BS 

A3 



m H6RALDS 
TH6 KING • 




ALICG- DANA- ADAMS 





Class -JEtS^&^S' 
Book._u3_S___ 

eDSKIGKf DEPOSIT. 



THE 

HERALDS OF THE KING 

The Story of the Foundation of the 
CHRISTIAN CHURCH 

BY 

ALICE DANA ADAMS, M. A. 




BOSTON 

RICHARD G. BADGER 

THE GOB. HAM PRESS 



Copyright 1919, by Alice D. Adams 



All Rights Reseroed 



Made in the United States of America 



The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A, 

JPN 28I9I9 © a * sa52T4 

/Vv>9 I 



CONTENTS 

Page 

The Heralds of the King . 13 

The Book of the Heralds 16 

The Message Promised 18 

The Risen Christ . 18 

The Promise of Power 18 

The Promise of Return . 20 

Waiting for the Message 20 

Choosing Another Apostle 22 

The Coming of the Power 24 

The Gift of the Spirit 24 

The Message Delivered 27 

The First Christian Church 30 

The Christian Brotherhood 31 

A Wonderful Sign 32 

The Lame Beggar Healed 32 

The Second Giving of the Message 35 

The First Persecution 36 

Peter and John in Prison 36 

Before the Great Council 36 

Generosity and Selfishness 39 

Generosity. 39 

Selfishness Leads to Lying 39 

The Second Persecution 42 

Shall We Obey God or Man? 43 

A New Plan for Caring for the Poor 45 

A New Herald of the King 47 

A Wonderful Sermon by Stephen 48 

The Murder of Stephen 49 

The Message in Samaria 52 



Contents 



Pel ge 

The Officer in the Chariot . 

An Enemy Becomes a Friend ,-g 

Saul Begins to Work for Christ g T 

Peter On a Missionary Tour g^ 

A Sick Man at Lydda g^ 

A Good Woman at Joppa g^ 

The Message First Delivered to a Gentile ... 66 

The Vision of Captain Cornelius 66 

The Great White Sheet gg 

Peter Visits the House of Cornelius 68 

Peter Criticized for His Visit " y 0 

The First Gentile Church: Antioch in Syria ... \ y 2 

The Persecution by Herod " ' 74 

The Arrest of the Apostles James and Peter. ... 74 

A Wonderful Release ^g 

The Death of Herod ^g 

The First Great Missionary Journey 80 

Saul and Barnabas Ordained as Missionaries. . ... 80 

The Missionaries in Cyprus 80 

From Cyprus to Antioch in Pisidia 82 

Turning to the Gentiles 83 

The Visit to Iconium 84 

"Gods in the Likeness of Men!" 85 

Home Again - . g^ 

Gentiles or Jews ? g^ 

The Discussion g^ 

How it was Settled g Q 

The Second Missionary Journey 95 

A Difference of Opinion Between Good Men. . . . 95 

Timothy 

The Cry from Macedonia 9 6 

The Slave Girl ^g 



Contents 



. Page 

The Earthquake 100 

The Release 102 

Success and Jealousy at Thessalonica 103 

The Noble Bereans 104 

A Sermon in Beautiful Athens 106 

A Long Stay in Corinth in 

The Return to the Home Church 115 

Apollos the Eloquent. 116 

The Third Great Missionary Journey 119 

Three Years at Ephesus 119 

The Riot of the Silversmiths 123 

A Visit to the Christians in Greece 127 

An Accident and its Results 129 

A Meeting with the Men of Ephesus 131 

The Voyage to Syria. . 133 

The Journey to Jerusalem 134 

" Avoid All Appearance of Evil" 137 

The Mob in the Temple 138 

Paul Gives the Message to the Jews 141 

Paul Brought Before the Jewish Council 144 

The Plot to Murder Paul . 147 

Paul Tried Before the Roman Governor 150 

The Appeal to Caesar 153 

A Royal Visitor. 155 

Paul Gives the Message Before the King 159 

Paul's Voyage to Rome 163 

Caesarea to Myra 163 

Myra to Crete 163 

The Storm 164 

The Wreck. 167 

Paul and the Deadly Snake 168 

The Winter at Malta 171 



Contents 



Page 

The Arrival at Rome 172 

The Message Given to the Jews at Rome 174 

Paul at Rome ijj 

Paul's Later Life and Death 182 

Some Other Heralds of the King 186 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 



Ink Horn Used in Palestine to Hold Pens and Ink. . . 16 

The Ascension '• • • l 9 

An Upper Room 21 

Peter, by Thorwaldsen 2 9 

Solomon's Porch 3 2 

Peter and John Curing the Lame Man, by D'Urbino. 33 

Death of Ananias, by Raphael. . , 4° 

Stephen Preaching and Before Council, by Fra 

Angelico 4^ 

Martyrdom of St. Stephen, by Fra Angelico 50 

A Reda or Roman Travelling Carriage 54 

The Conversion of Saul 57 

Straight Street, Damascus 5 8 

The Court of a House in Damascus 59 

Wall of Damascus 60 

Lydda 62 

Jaffa (Joppa) 64 

House of Simon the Tanner 65 

An Eastern House-Top ' 67 

A House Similar to that of Cornelius 69 

A Quaternion of Roman Soldiers 75 

The Deliverance of St. Peter, by Raphael 7 6 

Outer and Inner Doors 77 

Elymas Struck Blind, by Raphael • • 81 

Paul and Barnabas at Lystra, by Raphael 86 

Altar with Statue of Apollo 9 1 

A Roman Feast 9 2 

A Simple Meal 93 

Costumes of Arab and Greek 9^ 



List of Illustrations 



Page 

A Ship of Paul's Time 97 

A Prisoner in Stocks IOO 

Paul Preaching to the Thessalonians, by Dore 10^ 

The Acropolis Restored 107 

Paul Preaching at Athens, by Raphael 109 

Bedouin Tent 

Antioch in Syria 117 

Ancient Ephesus 118 

Paul Preaching at Ephesus 122 

Coin of Ephesus Showing Temple and Image of Diana 124 

Front and Side View of a Shrine 12; 

Theatre at Ephesus 126 

An Eastern House 130 

Ancient Lamps 131 

Men at Prayer 132 

Modern Tyre 134 

The Temple Restored 13; 

St. Paul Rescued from the Multitude, by Dore 139 

Modern Jerusalem 141 

Robe of the High Priest 145 

Roman Soldiers 148 

Paul in the Curule Chair 156 

Paul before Festus, by Hogarth 157 

A Galley 162 

Anchor and Tackle 166 

St. Paul Shipwrecked, by Dore 169 

A Viper 170 

St. Paul's Bay, Malta 171 

An Ancient Two-Masted Ship 173 

Appian Way Restored 174 

Appian Way Today 175 



List of Illustrations 



Page 

Room in Centurion's House in Which Paul was 

Imprisoned 176 

A Prisoner Chained to Two Soldiers,. 177 

A Roman Soldier in Full Armor 179 

Mamertine Prison, Rome 183 

St. Paul, the Aged, by Rembrandt 184 

Portraits of Peter and Paul, from a Glass Cup 187 

The Traditional Chain with which Peter was Bound 188 

The Isle of Patmos 190 

St. John the Evangelist, by Dolci 194 



HERALDS OF THE KING 



THE HERALDS AND THE KING 



In the older days when kings ruled as they pleased, 
and knights and nobles imitated their example and ruled 
their dependants as they pleased, there were certain men 
of importance called Heralds. They had a good many 
duties, and one of these was to go before the king into any 
place where he had planned to go, and tell the people 
that he was coming and that they must be ready to receive 
him. 

There is one King who lived and ruled in those days 
Who still lives and rules and Who had lived and ruled for 
ages before then. His kingdom is larger than all other 
kingdoms together; He rules at all time as He pleases; 
and His pleasure is always for the best good of His people. 

You all know Who this great King is, and what we 
must do to please Him. But 1900 years ago there were 
not so many who knew Him. All the people of the earth 
were His subjects, His children, but they had wandered 
far from Him. Their hearts, which should have yielded 
obedience to their Heavenly Father were occupied with 
many useless and hurtful governors. They worshiped 
idols, — false gods who could do nothing for them, and 
whose service was not only useless but harmful to mind 
and soul and even body. 

But most or all of these idolaters were ignorant of the 
truth,— they had never heard of the true God Who is the 
Ruler and Father of all races of men. Though hundreds 
or thousands of years before their ancestors had known 
Him and served Him, in some way those who lived later 

13 



The Heralds of the King 



had forgotten all about Him, and those living 1900 years 
ago knew nothing of Him. 

There was. however, a tiny people who had kept in 
their minds a knowledge of their King, — our Father, God. 
They had once been quite powerful, though never numer- 
ous. As long as the larger and more powerful part of 
them kept the knowledge of God in their hearts they pros- 
pered. When they forgot Him, or remembered Him only 
with their minds and not with their hearts, they were 
conquered by other nations and became at last just a tiny 
piece of the immense and powerful Roman Empire. 

Still, even when they had lost the right to rule them- 
selves, they kept up the worship of God in their Temple 
at Jerusalem and in the many synagogues throughout 
their land and in other lands where they were scattered. 
They were also looking for a great Prince or King who 
should come and lead them to victory over their oppressors 
and make them again a powerful, independent nation. 
Had the worship of God been more with the heart in their 
leaders, the story of their nation might have been far 
different. 

For in the course of time, just about 1900 years ago, 
a great Herald appeared in Palestine, and announced: 
"The Kingdom of God is at hand!" The King was com- 
ing and all must prepare to greet Him. How was.it to 
be done? By repentance and turning from the evil; and 
the serving of God from the heart, instead of the formal 
service of the head. The Herald, John the Baptist, 
preached for more than six months before the King came. 
Then his influence weakened and the Lord our Saviour, 
Jesus, began His work of teaching, preaching and healing. 

We are all familiar with the story of His life on earth, 
so far as any know it,— the few incidents of His childhood, 



The Heralds of the King 



*5 



and His brief public life of three years before He was 
crucified by the Roman governor to please the rulers of 
the Jews, — the very ones who had so looked for His com- 
ing. Had He been a human soldier He would have been 
accepted. As the divine Lord and Master, in human form, 
seeking to rule men's hearts and turn them from formal 
worshipers of a God they cared not for to humble servants 
who serve with their whole heart their Heavenly Father, 
they would have none of Him. So He left them, and they 
lost their country and what they still had retained of 
independence. 

But it was only in the earthly form that the Son of 
God left His people. As the Holy Spirit He was to come 
to each one who would receive Him, and take up His abode 
with him, establishing a little piece of the Kingdom of 
Heaven in each heart till the world at last might acknowl- 
edge Him as truly King. 

So He left behind Him, when He returned to His home 
in Heaven, those who should teach the people around 
them, and bring them to yield their hearts to the Holy 
Spirit. As God is our King, our great Ruler, is it not 
right that all who teach men to prepare their hearts to 
receive Him should be called heralds? 



THE BOOK OF THE HERALDS 



The book which tells us all we can know with certainty 
about the times just after Jesus Christ lived on this earth 
is called "The Acts of the Apostles," because it tells what 
some of the Apostles, who were the earliest of the Heralds 
of the King, were doing during those early years. It is 
the only history we have of the first years of the early 
church; every other account being only "tradition" or 
the stories told from one person to another. 




Ink Horn Used in Palestine to Hold Pens and Ink 



It was written by Luke, who was a physician, who 
traveled much with Paul, and who with his learning and 
general intelligence had proved an important man among- 
the early Christians. He learned all he could of the his- 
tory of Jesus from those who had seen Him, and wrote it 
out for his friends in the book we call "The Gospel Ac- 
cording to St. Luke." From the first verses of that 
Gospel we learn that he had in mind one special friend. 
Theophilus (Friend of God) to whom he dedicated the 
book, as writers would say today. 

Some time afterwards, no one knows just how long. 
Luke decided to write for this same friend, and all others 
who might be interested, an account of all that had ha.p- 

16 • 



The Book of the Heralds 



17 



pened among the followers of Jesus since their great 
Master's death and resurrection. This book was written, 
probably, about 34 years after Christ's death (z. e. in A. D. 
63), for it tells of things that happened just about that 
time, but not of some very interesting and important 
things which we know from other books happened only 
a year or two later. There are no dates in the book, and 
only when something is spoken of which we can read about 
in other books, can we tell when the events happened. 
When such cases occur, however, Luke is found to be very 
accurate. 



THE MESSAGE PROMISED 



The Risen Christ 

When Jesus Christ was crucified in Jerusalem His 
friends and followers were more grieved and disappointed 
than they would have been over merely the loss of a very- 
dear friend. They had remembered all the promises 
God had made to David and others of their nation, and 
expected that the great King that was to come would be 
like the kings of the countries around them; would lead 
their armies and conquer their enemies. No one, even of 
His closest friends, could understand that He was not to 
be this sort of a king, and on the very afternoon before 
His death they were disputing as to who should have the 
highest place when the new king should at last come to 
His own. 

And although He told them over and over again that 
He must be killed and rise from the dead, they could not 
understand Him. Even when He had come back to life 
after His death they still could not believe that the " King- 
dom" of which He had told them was not the little earthly 
kingdom of Palestine over which David himself- had 
reigned; and that the enemies from whom He was to free 
them were not the hated Romans who had conquered 
them and were now ruling them. 

The Promise of Power 

Many times during the forty days Jesus stayed on 
earth after His resurrection He sat and talked with them 

18 



The Message Promised 



19 



about the Kingdom and what their part in it was to be. 
Once when He was eating with them, He told them not to 
leave Jerusalem, until they had received what the Father 
in Heaven had promised them. They knew that this was 
the "Gift of the Holy Spirit," but they did not know 
what that meant. 




The Ascension 



Another time when they were on the Mount of Olives, 
near Jerusalem, they asked Jesus if it was not time to set 
Himself up as king over Israel. He answered that the 
Father in Heaven alone knew what the right time was, but 
that there was enough to do while they were waiting, for 
they should receive the promised power when they had 
received the "Gift of the Holy Spirit." They should be 
His witnesses, His Heralds, should tell everybody about 
Him, not only in Jerusalem but also in the country round; 



20 The Heralds of the King 

in Samaria, where lived people they hated; and in the 
"ends of the earth," the countries very far away. Just 
as He said this He left them, and went back to the Heaven 
from which He had come to be the Saviour and Helper of 
men. 

The Promise of Return 

The disciples stood wondering, looking up at the cloud 
where He had gone. It was all so different from anything 
they had expected that they could not understand it in the 
least. It is very likely that if any of the enemies of Jesus 
had spoken to them just then, and told them that their 
Master was gone, and that the talk of the Kingdom was 
not true, they might have been persuaded to give Him up, 
and go back to the life they knew before they had seen 
Him. Then the Kingdom would in truth have failed. 

But God, Who knew all that was in their hearts, did 
not leave them to themselves at this critical moment. 
They suddenly found standing by them two men in 
shining clothes, who asked them why they were so earnest- 
ly looking at the sky, and told them that sometime Jesus 
would return to earth, as He had left it. Then the dis- 
ciples went back to Jerusalem, ready to obey the com- 
mands their Master had left behind Him. 

Waiting for the Message 

Those who had loved Jesus while He was on earth met 
regularly together after His death to talk of Him and to 
pray to the Father in Heaven. They were still more 
ready to do this after He had ascended to Heaven. 

There was a large upper room in which thev seem to 
have stayed for much of the time, talking and praying. 



The Message Promised 



21 



No one knows where in the city this was, and there are 
many places pointed out by the people who think they 
know! Some think that it was in a part of the Temple 
itself. 




An Upp fi r Room 



There were several reasons for its being an " upper 
room." The houses in that country were, and still are, 
usually of only one story, and often with the rooms built 
around an inner court, open to the sky. When a room 
was built on the corner of the flat roof it was in most cases 
reached by outside stairs. This made it a more con- 
venient place to give a stranger wishing a place to lodge, 
since he would not disturb the family, nor be himself dis- 
turbed. A large number of the followers of Jesus were 
visitors in Jerusalem, with homes in the northern province 
of Galilee, and they would very likely hire just such a room 
as this for their stay in the city. 

Then, too, it was a convenient place for people to meet 
in secret, as was rather necessary now, owing to the hatred 
of the Jews to Christ and His followers. 

Among those who thus met together were the eleven 



The Heralds of the King 



chosen Apostles. Judas, the twelfth, had given up his 
Master to the Jews, and, sorry for what he had done, had 
killed himself. These eleven disciples, were Peter, John, 
James, Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and 
Matthew, another James, Simon and another Judas. 
With these eleven met a good many other men and women 
who had been with Jesus while He was on earth. We do 
not know how many there were, but at one meeting, the 
only one really described, there were one hundred and 
twenty present. 

Choosing Another Apostle 

The only thing told of what happened during the first 
ten days after Jesus went back to His home in Heaven, 
was the choosing of another Apostle in the place of Judas. 
Peter, who was always ready to take the lead because he 
was quick to think and quick to speak, proposed it to the 
rest, and they were all ready to carry out the plan. 

First they said that the man they should choose must 
be one who had been with Jesus as long as any of them 
had been with Him, ever since the beginning of the three 
years during which He had gone about teaching the 
people. This was because they thought the " Apostles" 
must know more about Jesus than the others so that they 
could better teach others about Him. So they chose 
two men, either because there were no more who had 
been so long with Jesus, or, more probably, because they 
thought these two were the best fitted to be an Apostle. 
Their names were Joseph Barsabas and Matthias. 

Then they chose one of these two by lot. We do not 
know just how they did this, but those who have studied 
the most about such things say that the two names were 



The Message Promised 



-5 



probably written on pieces of wood or stone and put into 
a sort of vase. Then either the vase was shaken till one 
fell out, or some one put his hand in and picked one out. 
But before they did this they prayed to God that He 
would let the right man be chosen for the place. 

Matthias was one the one who was chosen, and he was 
called one of the twelve Apostles. But we do not know 
any more than this about him and when we read or hear 
the names of the twelve Apostles we always find that 
"Judas, who betrayed his Master" is given as one of them. 



THE COMING OF THE POWER 



Jesus had been crucified on the day before the " Pass- 
over, "one of the feasts which the Jews held to show that 
they remembered what God had done for their nation. 
That year the Passover came in the first part of April. 
We can know this with certainty, because it was always 
determined by the time of the full moon of March, and 
the astronomers can easily reckon back and find the exact 
date. 

Fifty days after the Passover they had another feast 
called " Pentecost, " from a word meaning fifty. This was 
in the very last of May, and was a feast very much like 
our Thanksgiving, As you know Jesus stayed on earth 
forty days after He had come back from the dead, so there 
were only ten days between His Ascension and this Feast 
of Pentecost. During this ten days nothing happened, 
so far as we know, except the choosing of the Apostle,' 
just spoken of. 

But on this day of Pentecost something very wonderful 
happened: they received the "Gift of the Holy Spirit." 

The Gift of the Spirit 

All the disciples had met together that morning in the 
usual place, and were praying and talking as usual, when 
all at once they heard a sound like a strong wind coming 
nearer and nearer till it filled the whole house. Yet there 
was no wind! Then they saw something that looked like 
a great flame of fire, which divided into separate pieces 
like tongues, and settled on the heads of all the people 
there. Then, most wonderful of all, they felt they had 

24 



The Coming of the Power 



25 



something they must say, and began to speak in many 
different languages. The wonderful part of this was that 
these were not languages they had studied and learned, 
but they were taught to speak them by the Holy Spirit 
which was just given them. The Holy Spirit is really 
God speaking to us, and teaching us what to do, and how 
to do it. 

The Jews did not all live in their own country of 
Palestine, but were scattered all over the world. They all 
tried, however, to get back to Jerusalem for this great 
Thanksgiving Feast. 

With them came the " Proselytes, " that is, people who 
were not born Jews, but who had learned about the true 
God and wanted to serve Him. The Jews were the only 
race who had yet learned about Him; so these Proselytes 
had become Jews, so far as they could. So Jerusalem was 
very crowded at this time and many of the strangers had 
nothing to do but see and hear anything strange and 
interesting that was going on. 

Either the sound like wind was heard by the people of 
the city, or else the disciples were heard speaking in these 
different languages; for not long after the Spirit had come 
a great crowd had gathered round the house where the 
disciples were, and they heard them speaking. They were 
very much surprised, for they heard them speak in the 
languages they themselves used at home, so far away. 
They kept saying to one another, in their astonishment: 

"Why, are not all these men from Galilee? How is it 
that we each of us hear them in our own native language? 
Some of us are Parthians, some Medes, some Elamites; 
and some of us live in Mesopotamia, in Judea, in Cappa- 
docia, in Pontus and Roman Asia, in Phrygia and Pamphy- 
lia, in Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene; some 



26 



The Heralds of the King 



of us are visitors from Rome, either Jews by birth or 
converts, and some Cretans and Arabians —yet we all 
alike hear them speaking in our tongues of the great things 
God has done." These names are for the most part those 
of countries on the continent of Asia, and they can be 
found by looking on a map of Ancient Asia. 

Of course there were then, as there are now, men who 
wanted to think the worst about people, so some said, 
with an unpleasant laugh,— "They have had too much 
wine." Most people think that those who said this were 
Jews who could not speak many languages, and because 
they could not understand what was being said thought 
it was nonsense and meant nothing. It seems very likely 
that this was so, for how could people think that drinking 
wine would make people talk a real language they had 
never heard? But there were so many people ready to see 
the bad side of others that the Apostles thought some- 
thing should be said about what it really was. So Peter 
stood up and began to speak to the crowd. 



THE MESSAGE DELIVERED 



Now this very sermon of Peter shows that something 
very wonderful had happened to him. Do you remember, 
on that dreadful night when Jesus was taken prisoner and 
condemned to be crucified, how Peter had said that he did 
not even know who He was? How afraid he had been 
that the Jews would hurt him if they knew that he had 
been with Jesus? But now he was not at all afraid, but 
said just what he thought, even though it might very 
likely make the Jews very angry. 

"Men of Judea," he began, "and all you who are staying 
in Jerusalem, let me tell you what this means. You are 
wrong in thinking that these men have been drinking, be- 
cause it is only the third hour of the day;" that is, nine 
o'clock in the morning. That was enough to show them 
their mistake if they were willing to be told, for no good 
Jew in those days would drink any wine before the morning 
sacrifice at nine o'clock, and on a feast day such as this 
they would not drink before noon. 

"No!" Peter went on, "This is what was spoken of by 
the prophet Joel: 

" Tt shall be in the last days, saith God, 
That I will pour forth My Spirit on all flesh, 
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 
And your young men shall see visions, 
And your old men shall dream dreams; 
Yea, and on My servants and on My handmaidens 
in those days 

Will I pour forth of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 
And I will show wonders in the heaven above, 

27 



28 The Heralds of the King 

And signs on the earth beneath, 
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke; 
The sun will be turned into darkness, 
And the moon into blood, 

Before the day of the Lord comes— that great and 
awful day. 

And it shall be that whosoever shall call on the name 

of the Lord shall be saved.'" 
After giving these words of the old prophet, with which 
they were all familiar, Peter went on to tell them of Jesus 
Christ, how He had been sent by God into the world, had 
done many wonderful works among them, and had 'been 
crucified by the Romans at the desire of the Jews. He 
used the words of their great king David and showed that 
they must have been spoken of this man who was so de- 
spised and hated; that it was He indeed that should sit on 
David's throne, that is, rule the kingdom of David. And 
he declared that it was Jesus Himself Who had sent the 
wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit as He had promised 
before He left the earth. He closed the sermon with these 
words: "Let all Israel know assuredly that God hath 
made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus Whom you 
crucified. " 



Peter, by Thorzvaldsen 



THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH 



When the people heard Peter's sermon they felt that 
it was all true; and they began to be afraid, because this 
dreadful thing, the killing of their King, had been done by 
their rulers. They said to Peter, and the other Apostles 
who were standing with Peter, and who had perhaps 
.spoken after he had finished,— "Brethren, what shall we 
do?" 

Peter, answering for the rest told them that they must 
repent, that is, be so sorry for what they had done that 
they would never do anything like it again. And then 
they must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ, as a 
sign that they had been forgiven, and that they believed 
that He was the Christ, and Son of God. Then they, too, 
would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, because it was 
promised to all who should love and obey the Lord. He 
told them many things about Christ, and what they must 
do to please Him, urging them to give up their old ways 
and serve his Master. Then all who were willing to do 
this were baptised, and about three thousand joined the 
disciples on that day alone, and met with them in their 
meetings. 



30 



THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD 



All that believed in Jesus agreed to have everything in 
common; that is no one called his money his own, but was 
always ready to give it to any one who needed it. They 
were very careful that no one was too poor to be com- 
fortable while others were rich enough to help him. A 
good many sold their houses and lands, or other belongings, 
so that the money could be divided among those who 
needed it more than they did. We do not suppose that 
it means that no one kept any of his money, for if that was 
so every one would be poor; but those who had plenty 
looked out for those who had little, and there was always 
money in the Apostles' hands to help those who might 
otherwise suffer. 

Every day these followers of Jesus met in the Temple 
or at the homes of those who lived in the city to pray and 
praise God for what He had done for them. They were 
good honest people, always doing good, and everyone who 
knew them respected them. So their example and teach- 
ings made still others believe in Jesus and join them. 



3i 



A WONDERFUL SIGN 



The Lame Beggar Healed 

One day that summer, as Peter and John were going 
up into the Temple courts about three o'clock, a man who 
had been lame from his birth was carried past. In those 




Solomon's Porch 



countries both then and now, any man who is so sick or 
crippled that he cannot work for a living sits all day long 
in some place where many people are passing, and begs for 
money from those who come near him. This lame man 
was used to sitting near the gate of the Temple, where 
there were likely to be a great many people. As Peter 
and John were just going through the gate he asked them 

32 



A Wonderful Sign 



33 



to give him some money. Peter looked at him, and said. 
"Look at us. " 

Of course the lame man thought that he was to be 
given a nice present, and looked at them eagerly. Then 
Peter said to him: "Silver and gold have I none, but what 
I have will I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of 
Xazareth I bid you walk." At the same time he took 




Peter and John Curing the Lame Man, by UVrbino 



the beggar by the hand to help him up. Instantly the 
poor man found his feet and ankles were strong, and he 
went with them into the Temple, walking and jumping, 
and praising God. 

It was just at the time of a regular service at the 
Temple, so there must have been a good many people 
there, and they were utterly astonished to see this man 



34 



The Heralds of the King 



who had always been lame walking and jumping. A crowd 
began to gather around the men, exclaiming and expressing 
their surprise. Peter saw a good chance for another talk 
to the people. 

So the people gathered in Solomon's Porch on one 
side of the Temple court to hear him. 



THE SECOND GIVING OF THE MESSAGE 



"Men of Israel," he said, "why do you wonder at this? 
and why do you stare so at us, as though we, by our own 
power or goodness had made this man walk?" And then 
he told the people again about Jesus, how He was sent 
into the world by God, and had been killed by the Jews, 
and had come back to life. "And it is faith in the name 
of Jesus that has made this man strong whom you all see 
and know. Yes, faith in Jesus that has given him this 
perfect health in the presence of you all." 

He comforts the people by saying that they had not 
known what it was they were doing, and that if they now 
repented they would be forgiven and receive the blessings 
Jesus had come to earth to give them. "It was unto 
you first that God, having raised up His Servant, sent 
Him to bless you, by turning every one of you from his 
wicked ways." 



35 



THE FIRST PERSECUTION 



Peter and John in Prisox 

While the Apostles were still speaking to the people 
the chief priests, with the officers in charge of the Temple 
and some others of the chief men, came up to them. They 
were much annoyed that Peter and John were teaching 
the people, and especially because they were preaching 
that this Jesus, Whom they thought they had gotten rid 
of, had risen from the dead, and was the Christ. So they 
arrested the two Apostles, and put them in prison, a much 
more uncomfortable place in those days than it is now, 
bad as it is. However, many of those who had heard the 
Message believed it and the number of men alone who 
were now believers in Jesus had grown to be about five 
thousand. 

Before the Great Council 

It was evening when the Apostles were arrested, so they 
remained in prison that night, and the next day were 
brought before a meeting of the principal men of the Jews. 
Annas and Caiaphas, before whom Jesus had been tried, 
were among them. They began by asking what right such 
men as they had to do what they had done in the Temple 
courts, and Peter answered: 

" Rulers of the people, and elders, if we are being 
asked today about a kind act done to a helpless man, and 
by what means this man has been made well, let me tell 
you and all the people of Israel that in the name of Jesus 
Christ of Nazareth Whom you crucified and Whom God 

36 



The First Persecution 



37 



raised from the dead, this man stands before you cured. 
It is Jesus Who is the stone which, rejected by you 
builders, was made the corner stone. And through no 
one else does salvation come; for there is no other name 
in the whole world given to men as a means of our salva- 
tion." 

The men to whom they spoke were greatly surprised 
by their boldness, especially as they found they were 
uneducated men and did not belong to any of the great 
families of the country. Such men were in those days 
most likely to be afraid of the rulers, and to yield any- 
thing rather than displease them. The rulers remembered 
that they had been companions of Jesus during His life 
on earth. They could not deny that a wonderful thing 
had been done by them, for the man who had been healed 
was standing right before them; so they did not know 
what to say. 

They therefore sent the Apostles out of the room, and 
began to ask each other what ought to be done. They 
must acknowledge the wonder of the cure, for the lame 
man was over forty years old, and had been lame all his 
life. But they were not willing that the story should 
spread among the people, for they were afraid that more 
would be won to believe in Jesus. So they decided to call 
them in again, and order them to give up speaking or 
teaching in the name of Jesus altogether. But Peter and 
John replied: "Whether it is right in God's eyes to listen 
to you rather than to Him, you must decide; for we cannot 
help speaking of what we have seen and heard." 

Yet, although the Apostles would not promise to be 
quiet the rulers let them go, after some more threats, for 
there was nothing they could really do to them, and all 
the people were praising God for what had occurred. 



38 



The Heralds of the King 



When Peter and John were set free they went to their 
friends and told them all that had happened. When 
these heard the story they all prayed to God asking Him 
for boldness to do His work, even though the rulers should 
punish them. When the prayer was finished the whole 
place where they were meeting was shaken, the Holy 
Spirit came to them again, and they spoke the Message of 
the King without any fear. 



GENEROSITY AND SELFISHNESS 



Generosity 

The whole company of those who had become believers 
still lived like brothers; no one was allowed to want for 
anything, and those who had money did not call it their 
own if they found any one who needed any of it. Many 
who owned pieces of land or houses that they did not 
need sold them and gave the money to the Apostles to 
be divided among the poor. This was the more necessary 
because many of the visiting Jews had become believers 
in Jesus, and wanted to stay longer in Jerusalem so that 
they could learn more about Him, and be better able to 
teach their friends when they went back to their own 
homes. Many of these probably had not enough money 
to keep them long away from home without working. 

One of the disciples who sold some of his property was 
a man named Joseph Barnabas, who was born in Cyprus. 
He sold a farm that belonged to him, and brought all the 
money that was paid for it, and gave it to the Apostles, 
who were considered the leaders in the new company. 
Of course all who sold land in this way, or who in any way 
gave a good deal of money to help the others, were thought 
a good deal of, and this led to a very sad thing. 

Selfishness Leads to Lying 

A man named Ananias, and his wife Sapphira thought 
it would be a very nice thing if they could get the people 
to think as much of them as they did of the other generous 
friends, and yet they were not willing to give up so much 

39 



4 o 



The Heralds of the King 



of their money and be really generous themselves. So 
they planned to please themselves, and yet make their 
friends believe them as good and kind as Joseph Barnabas 
and the rest. They sold some property and brought a 
part of the money paid for it to the Apostles, giving them 
to understand that it was the whole amount. 




Death of Ananias, by Raphael 

But Peter learned in some way what they had done, 
perhaps through the Holy Spirit. When Ananias came, 
bringing the money, and gave it to Peter in the presence 
of a large company of people, Peter said to him: " Ananias, 
why has Satan filled your heart, that you have lied to the 
Holy Spirit, and kept back a part of the money paid for 
the land? While it was unsold was it not your own? 



Generosity and Selfishness 41 



and after it was sold was the money not in your own 
power? How did you come to think of such a thing? 
You have not lied to men but to God." Just as Peter 
finished speaking Ananias fell down, dead. God had 
punished him for his lie. 

Everyone was afraid, but some of the younger men got 
up and wrapping the clothes closely around the body they 
carried it out and buried it. In that country it is necessary 
to bury the dead the same day they die. 

About three hours later Sapphira, Ananias' wife, rather 
troubled that her husband did not come back and tell her 
how their gift was received, decided to go herself to the 
meeting-place, and see what had happened. As soon as 
she came in Peter asked her if the sum Ananias had brought 
was just what they had been paid for the land. Now was 
her chance to be honest and tell the truth, for then she 
would have been forgiven. But she did not, she told the 
lie instead. 

Then Peter said, "How is it that you both agreed to 
tempt the Spirit of the Lord? The feet of those who have 
buried your husband are at the door; and they shall carry 
you out." Instantly Sapphira fell down, dead, and the 
same young men carried her out and buried her by her 
husband's side. All those who heard the story were 
afraid, and no one else was likely to tell a lie to God. 



THE SECOND PERSECUTION 



The number of believers in Jesus continued to grow 
larger and the Apostles did more and more wonderful 
things. People began to bring their sick friends out into 
the streets, and lay them on mattresses and mats, so that 
when Peter came by he might touch them, or at least 
that his shadow might fall on them. And they were 
brought too from the villages round Jerusalem; and all 
who were brought were made well. Of course the rulers 
of the Jews, none of whom believed in Jesus, were very 
angry at the way things were going on. So they arrested 
the Apostles again, and put them in prison. 

But during the night an angel came to them, opened 
the prison doors and let them out, telling them to go into 
the Temple courts as usual and tell the people about the 
new Kingdom. 

The next morning a great company of the leading men 
of Jerusalem with the great Council which decided all the 
affairs of the nation, met to discuss what should be done 
with these Apostles. But the officers who were sent to the 
prison to bring them came back saying that while the 
prison doors were tightly fastened and the men, who 
guarded them were still there, yet the prisoners had 
escaped. This puzzled them greatly. Just then some 
one came and told them that the men whom they had put 
in prison were standing in the Temple courts teaching the 
people as usual. The officers went and arrested them, and 
brought them before the Council. But they were careful 
to do it quietly, for otherwise they were afraid the people 
would stone them, 



42 



The Second Persecution 



43 



Shall We Obey God or Man 
When they were at last before the Council the High 
Priest demanded an explanation. "We gave you strict 
orders," he said, "not to teach in this name. Yet you 
have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to 
make us responsible for the death of this man." 

The reply of Peter and the others was, "We must obey 
God rather than men. The God of our ancestors has 
raised Jesus from the dead, whom you yourselves put to 
death, by hanging Him on a cross. It was He Whom God 
exalted to His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, to 
give Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. And we 
are witnesses to the truth of this, and so is the Holy Spirit 
— Whom God has given to those who obey Him. " The 
members of the Council were furious at these words, and 
many of them wanted to have the Apostles at once put 
to death. 

But a man named Gamaliel, who was a Pharisee and 
a famous teacher, and who had great influence among 
the people because of his wisdom, asked that the men be 
taken out of the room for a little while. 

Then he said: "Men of Israel take care what you do 
with these men. For some time ago Theudas appeared, 
claiming to be somebody, and was joined by a body of 
some four hundred men. He himself was killed and all 
his followers scattered and the thing came to nothing. 
After him Judas or Galilee appeared at the time of the 
census and got people to follow him; yet he too perished 
and all his followers scattered. And now I say to you, 
do not interfere with these men but let them alone — for if 
this work is of men it will come to an end. But if it is of 
God you cannot end it, but perhaps you may find your- 
selves fighting against God." 



44 



The Heralds of the King 



That is, if these men were teaching something that 
they had themselves made up, that was not true, they 
would either do some foolish thing, and so lose their lives, 
or at least their influence; or else the story would be 
proved to be a lie. But if the facts were true, and they 
were teaching because God commanded them to do so. 
the rulers could not keep the truth from being taught 
by somebody, even if they should kill these men: and it 
might prove that they were really fighting against God in 
punishing them for teaching about Jesus. 

This is the way most people look at these things today. 
You read everywhere of all sorts of new religions started 
by different men and women. One or two hundred years 
ago the followers would have been persecuted. Xow 
they are let alone, and in time they all come to an end. 
Even those which seem prosperous now may come to an 
end soon, as did others that seemed as strong in the past. 

This advice seemed wise to the Council, so they called 
the Apostles into the room again, had them whipped for 
disobeying their commands, and after telling them again 
not to speak in the name of Jesus, let them go. The 
Apostles left the Council, glad that they had had the honor 
to suffer for the sake of Jesus, and not for a single day 
either in the Temple or in private houses, did they stop 
teaching the people about Christ. 



A NEW PLAN FOR CARING FOR THE POOR 



After a time, perhaps only a few months but more 
likely several years, the first dispute began in the company 
of the believers. It came about in this way. The money 
that the rich members of the company had given was 
distributed by the Apostles to the poor, a great many of 
whom were widows who had no one to work for them. 
Some of these widows belonged to families who usually 
spoke Greek, and some to those who usually spoke He- 
brew. Now as Hebrew was the old language of the Jews 
those who spoke it now were thought to be more true 
Jews than those who had taken up a foreign tongue. 
Then, too, a good many of those who spoke Greek were 
not pure Jews, but were proselytes, or belonged to families 
which had once been proselytes. 

The widows who spoke Greek thought they did not 
have their share of the money and food that was given 
away, and their friends complained to the Apostles about 
it. Now it may be that they did have their share, but 
did not understand that they did; and perhaps they did 
not; we cannot tell now. But it was very easy to see that 
the Apostles, who were all true Jews, might learn more 
easily about the needs of the true Jews than of the needs 
of the others, even though they wished to be as fair as 
possible. But they saw that to be perfectly fair a great 
deal more time must be spent in finding out about those 
who needed help! 

They thought over the matter, and came to the con- 
clusion that they would not have time to do this work 
if they were to teach the people about Christ, as they had 

45 



46 



The Heralds of the King 



been used to doing. They therefore called together the 
disciples and said to them that it would not do for them 
to give up preaching to attend to the matter, and advised 
them to choose seven men of their number, who they knew 
were wise and good, and give them the work of caring for 
the poor. Then they themselves would attend only to 
the preaching and to prayer. 

The disciples were satisfied with this way of settling 
the matter, and chose seven men,— Stephen,— a very good 
man,— Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, 
and Nicolas of Antioch, who had before been a proselyte. 
When they had chosen them they took them to the 
Apostles who prayed and put their hands upon them as a 
sign thai they were set apart for the work. We do not 
hear of the most of these men again, but we know that 
they must have done their work well, for there was no 
more complaining about the money for the poor. Some 
of the names are certainly Greek, and it is probable that 
they chose men from both parties so that the distribution 
might be sure to be fair. 

When this matter had been so well settled God's Ales- 
sage spread and the number of the disciples constantly 
increased in Jerusalem, a number of the Jewish priests, 
even, believing in Jesus. 



A NEW HERALD OF THE KING 



One of the best of the Deacons, as they called the men 
who were chosen to take care of the poor, was Stephen. 
After his appointment he showed great wonders among 
the people, teaching about Jesus, and helping those who 
were poor and sick. 

Some of the Jews who did not yet believe in Jesus be- 
gan to dispute with him, and to try to show that he was 
wrong in thinking that Jesus was the King they had so 
long been expecting. But they could not get the best of 
him, for he was helped by the Holy Spirit, which we have 
seen was given to all the followers of Jesus. This made 
them very angry, and they induced some men to say that 
they had heard Stephen saying wicked things against 
their great leader Moses, and also against God. They 
also stirred up the people so that at last it was easy for the 
rulers to arrest Stephen and bring him before the same 
Council which had tried to stop Peter and John from 
teaching the people. This arrest probably took place 
about six years after Jesus' death, or A. D. 36. 

They had nothing true against him, for he was a good 
man, who loved God and wanted to honor Him, So they 
found men who were willing to tell lies about him. They 
said that Stephen was constantly saying things against 
the Temple, and the Law which God had given the Jews 
through Moses. This was the worst possible sin in the 
eyes of the Jews, and we all believe that if he had really 
done it he ought to have been punished. But the dis- 
ciples were not likely to do it, for they were Jews them- 
selves, and loved the Temple and the laws and customs of 
Moses as much as did any of the rulers. 

47 



4 8 



The Heralds of the King 



A Wonderful Sermon by Stephen 

The High Priest asked Stephen if it was true that he 
had said these things; and then Stephen preached a 
wonderful sermon. He showed them that he knew all 
the past history of the Jewish people, and that he was 
proud of their great men. He began to tell their story 
from the time of Abraham; how God had loved him, and 
told him to leave his family and the land where he was 
living and go to the land of Canaan which his family, 




Stephen Preaching and Before Council, by Fra Angelico 

which should grow to be a large nation, should have as 
their own. He spoke of Abraham's only son Isaac, the 
child which God promised him; and of Jacob and his 
twelve sons. 

Then he told of the selling of Joseph into slavery in 
Egypt, and the great good he did there; of the home in 



A New Herald of the King 



49 



Egypt where all the Children of Israel lived for so long 
and where they were so ill-treated by the king. He told 
about the birth and education of their great leader Moses, 
and of God's call to him to be the Saviour of his people. 
He spoke of the long years in the wilderness, on the 
journey back from Egypt to Canaan, and the many 
times they were disobedient to God, and rejected Him. 

Then he spoke of the Temple. — how the Jews had had 
the " tabernacle" while they were in the wilderness, and 
the first part of the time they lived in Palestine; how 
David, their great king, had wanted to build a splendid 
Temple, but God was not willing; how at last it was Solo- 
mon who built the one of which they had been so proud. 
"But, " he went on "the Most High does not dwell in 
houses made with hands. God is everywhere and made 
everything, and cannot live in one place alone. '' 

Probably about this time Stephen saw that the mem- 
bers of the Council were growing more and more angry, 
and that they did not want to believe that God could be 
worshiped in any other place than their Temple. So he 
suddenly changed his tone and began to tell them that 
they were resisting the Holy Spirit, as their ancestors had 
done before them. He spoke of the killing of many good 
men in the years past because they did not speak the 
words the Jews wanted to hear, and declared that they 
themselves had killed not only a good man but their 
promised King Himself. 

The Murder of Stephex 

This was more than they could stand: they grew frantic 
with rage. Then Stephen, who was full of the Holy 
Spirit, looked up to the sky. and said: "Look. I see 
Heaven open, and the Son of Man [Jesus] standing at 



The Heralds of the King 



God's right hand." This was the last straw, as they 
say; they all rushed at him forced him out of the city, 
and began to stone him. W hile they did this Stephen 
said: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. * ? Falling on his 
knees he cried out loudly: u Lord. do not charge them with 
this sin." and with these words he died. 




Martyr do 



Among those who stood by and took some part in this 
murder of Stephen was a young man by the name of Saul 
of whom we shall hear a good deal later. He did not 
throw stones himself, but he took care of the outer clothes 
of those who were throwing stones, and gave his consent 
in this way. 'and probably in words as well, as he himself 
says later. 

Thus. Stephen was the first who died because of his 
faith in Jesus. But it was only the beginning. The 
rulers were angry with all the disciples because they knew 



A New Herald of the King 



Si 



they all believed as did Stephen, and they were afraid they 
would teach many more to believe it too. So they began 
to put them in prison and punish them in every possible 
way, even putting some of them to death. A great many 
of the disciples went away from Jerusalem to escape this 
persecution, and scattered all over the country, in the small 
villages, even in the country of Samaria, where lived a 
people who hated the Jews, and whom the Jews them- 
selves hated. 

The Apostles, however, stayed at Jerusalem, com- 
forting all those who were suffering for Jesus' sake, and 
doing all they could to win others to believe in Him. 
Stephen was buried with great mourning by some of the 
Jews themselves, who, although they did not believe that 
Jesus was the Son of God, still were sorry for what their 
rulers had done in their anger. Saul, the young man of 
whom we shall hear a great deal, was very active in the 
work of finding out the disciples, and putting them in 
prison. 



THE MESSAGE IN SAMARIA 



Now, as was said, the disciples were scattered all over 
the country and wherever they were they taught the 
people about Jesus. They did not keep quiet for fear 
of the Jews. One of those who worked the hardest was 
Philip, another of the seven deacons, and the only one 
besides Stephen of whom we know anything. Philip 
went to Samaria, among the enemies of the Jews, when 
he fled from Jerusalem, and there began to teach the 
people. They one and all listened very attentively to 
what Philip told them, all the more because Philip did 
some wonderful miracles. There were many paralysed 
and lame made well, and many of those insane people who 
were called " possessed with evil spirits" were cured. 
This last sort of trouble was very hard to cure and for 
that reason it attracted a greater attention when a sufferer 
did get well. 

Staying in the city at the time was a man named 
Simon, who had been practising magic there, and deceiving 
the Samaritan people, saying that he was some great 
person. Every' one who listened to him, high or low, 
believed that he had a wonderful power. But- when 
Philip had told them the good news of Jesus' coming into 
the world they believed him, and were baptised, men and 
women alike. Indeed, Simon himself believed, and after 
his baptism was constantly with Philip, watching with 
great surprise the wonderful things that he did. 

When the Apostles at Jerusalem heard that the 
Samaritans were believing in Jesus, and were being bap- 
tised, they sent Peter and John to Samaria, to see that all 

52 



The Message in Samaria 



55 



was right. The Samaritans had not yet been given the 
"gift of the Holy Spirit" which had come upon the whole 
company of the disciples at Jerusalem on the Day of 
Pentecost, and upon those who later had joined them there. 
They had merely received baptism as a sign that they were 
willing to give up their old ways and serve God in the way 
Jesus had taught His disciples to serve Him. So the first 
thing the Apostles did after seeing that all was right was 
to pray God for this gift upon these new converts, and God 
sent it in answer to their prayer as they laid their hands 
upon each of them. 

But Simon did not yet understand. He did not know 
about the Holy Spirit; he only saw that wonderful things 
were being done.. So he thought that since this change 
came when the Apostles placed their hands on the Samari- 
tans that they had some strange power in themselves. 
So he brought them some money asking that in return 
they would give him this wonderful power! Peter was 
indignant at the thought that " God's free gift could be 
bought with gold!" He declared that Simon had not 
truly given his heart to Christ and that he must repent 
and pray to be forgiven for such wickedness. Simon 
asked that the Apostles should pray for him. We do not 
know more about him, so cannot tell whether he became 
a real disciple or not. 

After this Peter and John went back to Jerusalem, 
preaching on the way to the people of all the villages 
through which they passed. 



THE OFFICER IN THE CHARIOT 



Meanwhile Philip, who had begun this work in Samaria, 
was sent by the Holy Spirit on a journey toward the South 
along a somewhat deserted road that ran from Jerusalem 
to Gaza, a city near the seacoast a little southwest of 
Jerusalem. As he was walking along, very likely wonder- 
ing why he was there, a chariot came along, and in it was 
a man of high rank, who was the treasurer of Candace, 
Queen of the country of Meroe. in Africa. 




A Re da or Roman Travelling Carriage 



He was perhaps a Jewish proselyte, for he had been to 
Jerusalem to worship. He was certainly not a Jew by 
race, but really wanted to know and worship the one true 
God. Now on his return he was busy reading, as was the 
habit of travelers, to make the journey seem shorter, and 
to make the time valuable. 

The Holy Spirit put it into Philip's heart to go up 
close to the chariot and run along by its side for a while. 

54 



The Officer in the Chariot 



As he was so close he heard the African reading aloud 
from the book of Isaiah. 

"Do you really understand what you are reading?" 
he asked. "How can I," answered the officer. " unless 
some one should explain it to me." Then he invited 
Philip to sit by his side and showed him the passage he was 
reading, which was: "He was led as a sheep to the slaugh- 
ter and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he 
not his mouth: in his humiliation his judgment was taken 
away; and who shall declare his generation? for his life is 
taken from the earth." "About whom is the prophet 
speaking," asked the officer, "'himself or someone else?" 

That was all Philip wanted. — he explained this verse 
and told him how the Christ had come and how He had 
been rejected and killed. But he also told him how He 
had risen from the dead, and what wonderful things had 
been going on ever since. The officer believed, and as 
they happened to pass a small stream of water, he said to 
Philip: "See, here is water; what is to prevent my being 
baptised?" So Philip baptised him. and they separated, 
the African going his way with a joyful heart, while Philip 
went to Caesarea, preaching in all the towns through 
which he passed. 



AN ENEMY BECOMES A FRIEND 



You remember that when the Jews killed Stephen they 
gave their outside clothes into the care of a man named 
Saul, and that later he was very active in trying to find 
out and put to death all those who believed in Jesus. 
This Saul was a very learned man. He was a native of 
Tarsus in Cilicia, on the northern shore of the Mediter- 
ranean Sea, not far from Palestine. Here there was and 
still is a large school, the University of Tarsus. After 
as good an education as he could get at home he had been 
sent to Jerusalem where he studied under Gamaliel, one 
of the wisest teachers the Jews ever had. 

He was at this time a very strict Pharisee, one of the 
strictest sorts of Jews, and as he himself said later, he 
truly thought he was serving God in trying so hard to 
destroy the disciples of Jesus. It seems from the story, 
however, that he had begun to have some questions but 
that he was so sure that he was right that he fought against 
any feeling that he might be in the wrong. 

Some time after the death of Stephen. Saul went to the 
High Priest and asked him for letters to the principal 
Jews in Damascus, which was a large and very old city in 
Syria, a good way north of Jerusalem. He wished if he 
found any of Jesus' disciples to have them arrested and 
brought to Jerusalem for trial. After he received the 
letters he started with a number of men as a sort of guard 
to ride the long way, — at least one hundred and fifty miles 
over mountains and through very wild country. 

They were at last very near Damascus when suddenly 
a light from the sky flashed all around him. He fell to 

56 




The Conversion of Saul 



58 



The Heralds of the Kin? 

J o 



the ground, perhaps in fear, and then he heard a voice 
saying: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" 
'"Who are you. Lord?" asked Saul, who felt that the one 
who spoke was somebody of importance. "I am Jesus 
whom you are persecuting." the voice answered, "but 
rise and go into the city and you will be told what you 
must do. " 




Straight Street, Damascus 



Meantime the men with Saul were standing speechless, 
hearing a sound but not knowing what it was. When 
Saul got up he could see nothing, and his men led him as a 
blind man to Damascus where for three days he could not 
see and did not either eat or drink. 

Xow there was at Damascus one of Jesus' disciples 
called Ananias. This man had a vision or a dream in 



An Enemy Becomes a Friend 



59 



which he saw Jesus, who told him to go to a street in 
Damascus called " Straight Street," and ask at a certain 
house there for Saul of Tarsus. This was one of the best 
streets in the city, and can be seen there today by travelers. 
There are ruins along the sides, showing that at one time 
there were many buildings. 




The Court of a House in Damascus 



Ananias was also told in his vision that Saul was 
praying for help and that he also had had a vision in which 
he saw Ananias himself coming to see him. 

Ananias was very much afraid; he had heard many 
bad stories about Saul; he knew how much harm he had 
done in Jerusalem to those who believed in Jesus, and the 
Christians in Damascus all knew well enough what his 
errand was in their city. But the Master said to him: 
"You must go, for I have chosen this man to work for 
Me. He is to take My message to the heathen and their 



60 The Heralds of the King 

kings as well as to My people Israel. He is to be one of 
the greatest of My Heralds, and suffer much for My 
name. " 

So Ananias went to see Saul and placed his hands on 
him and said: "Saul, my brother, the Lord, even Jesus 
Who appeared to you as you came here, sent me that you 
may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. " 
Instantly something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and 
he could see. Then he was baptised. 




Wall of Damasi 



SAUL BEGINS TO WORK FOR CHRIST 



Saul stayed for several days with those of Jesus' dis- 
ciples who were in Damascus, and began at once to declare 
that Jesus was the Son of God. He even did this in the 
synagogues before the Jews themselves. All who heard 
him were astonished that the man who had come to Da- 
mascus for the purpose of persecuting the followers of 
Jesus should now argue everywhere that Jesus was the 
Son of God. But Saul was a great orator, with, you 
remember, a fine education. His power therefore in- 
creased, and the Jews before whom he talked could not 
prove him mistaken. After quite a time, therefore, the 
Jews decided to kill him. But he learned of it and es- 
caped. Now the way he escaped was very odd. 

Damascus was, like all cities of that time, surrounded 
by a very high, strong wall, with large gates which were 
shut and guarded at night. No one was allowed to go out 
at night except by special permission; and now that the 
Jews were on the watch he could not get out by day nor 
get permission to go at night without their knowing. 
But there were many houses built up against the wall and 
above it, and one of these must have belonged to a friend, 
for the Christians let him down out of some opening in or 
above the wall in a large basket! 

He went to Jerusalem to join the other disciples of 
Jesus, but they were all afraid of him, because they thought 
that he was only pretending to believe in Jesus so that he 
might the better learn who His followers were. But 
Barnabas, whom we must remember as the generous man 
who gave so much money for the poor disciples, knew about 

61 



62 



The Heralds of the King 



Saul, and he told his story and what he had been doing in 
Damascus, and why he had left there. Then they received 
him and he lived and worked with them. But he was 
always talking with the Jews, and trying to convince them 
that Jesus was the Messiah. This made many of them so 
angry that they tried to kill him. When the Apostles 
saw in what danger he was they thought he should leave 
the city, so they sent him to his home in Tarsus. 

Only from Saul's own letter written later to the people 
of Galatia do we know anything of what Saul was doing 
during the next three years. Much of the time was spent 
in the desert country of Arabia, southwest of Palestine, 
where he could study and think in peace, and where he 
doubtless learned from the Holy Spirit much of what he 
later taught the people whom he led to believe in the Lord 
Jesus Christ. 




Lydda 



PETER ON A MISSIONARY TOUR 



A Sick Man at Lydda 

For some time after Saul's departure the believers in 
Jesus were allowed to live in peace, and by the help of the 
Holy Spirit they increased in numbers. It is supposed 
that the reason for this quiet was that it was now the time 
when the wicked Emperor of Rome, Caligula, was trying 
very hard to make the Jews worship him as a god. If 
this was so the Jews had enough to do for themselves 
without bothering the Christians! 

During these years when there was no persecution the 
Apostles traveled around in many directions, visiting 
groups of believers, just as missionaries in foreign coun- 
tries now go "touring" among the country places. On 
one of his tours Peter visited the disciples of Jesus at 
Lydda, a town northwest of Jerusalem, halfway to the 
seacoast. 

There he found a man named Aeneas who was sick 
with paralysis. He was so sick that he had been lying in 
bed for eight years. Peter said: "Aeneas, Jesus Christ 
cures you. Rise and make your bed." Making one's 
bed in Palestine was a light task, merely a rolling up of 
the heavy rug or thin mattress, as they had no bedsteads 
or bedclothes. Aeneas at once got up, and when the 
people who lived near saw him they all believed in Jesus 
as the Son of God; for how else could his follower have 
such immense power? 

63 



6 4 



The Heralds 



A Good Woman at Joppa 
Joppa. or as it is now called. Jaffa, is a town on the 
seacoast which has always been a great seaport. Here 
lived a number of Christians, and among them a woman 
called Dorcas who was always doing kind things for poor 
people. Just at this time she was taken ill and died, and 
her friends laid her in an upper room. Lydda was near 
by. and when Dorcas' friends heard that Peter was there 
they sent for him to come at once. This he did. On his 
arrival he was taken up to where Dorcas was lying, and 
the poor people and widows came to him in tears, showing 
the clothes Dorcas had given them. 




Peter sent every one out of the room, knelt down and 
prayed. Then he said: "Dorcas! stand up!" She opened 
her eyes and seeing Peter sat up. Peter helped her up 
and then calling her friends showed them that she was 
alive. Y\ hen the people around knew this many more 
believed in Jesus, 



Peter on a Missionary Tour 



65 



Peter stayed in Joppa some time with a tanner named 
Simon. The Jews did not like the trade of tanning and 
the very fact that Peter lived there makes us think it 
likely that Simon was a follower of Jesus and shows us 
that under the Gospel men were already looked upon as 
brothers whatever their condition. 

A tanner in Palestine could not really live in the city, 
but must be outside and near the water. One fact about 
them shows how they were disliked: if a woman was be- 
trothed to a man who afterward was found to be a tanner 
the engagement could be at once broken, though usually 
the betrothal was as binding as the marriage itself. 




House of Simon the Tanner 



THE MESSAGE FIRST DELIVERED TO A GENTILE 



The Vision of Captain Cornelius 

In Caesarea, another important city on the coast, 
perhaps thirty miles north of Joppa, was a regiment of 
Roman soldiers called "The Italian Band." A captain 
in this regiment was named Cornelius. He was called a 
Centurion, from the Latin word for 100, because his troop 
numbered 100 men. This Cornelius was a man who 
reverenced the true God, and so did all his family. He 
gave very generously to the poor around him, and prayed 
to God for guidance. One afternoon about three o'clock 
he saw in a vision or dream an angel from God coming 
into his room. He was much alarmed, but asked what 
was wanted. The angel answered: "Your prayers and 
your charities have been very acceptable to God. Now 
send to Joppa to a man named Simon Peter who is lodging 
with one Simon, a tanner who lives near the seaside." 

Cornelius must have been very much surprised but 
he was so sure it was the voice of God speaking to him 
that he called two of his servants and a soldier that was 
always with him, all of whom worshiped the true God, 
and after telling them the whole story sent them to Peter. 

The Great White Sheet 

On the next day about noon Peter went up on the flat 
roof of the tanner's house to pray. He became hungry 
and while he was waiting for something to be prepared for 
him to eat he had a vision. He thought that a great 
white sheet was let down out of the sky by the four corners. 

66 



The Message First Delivered to a Gentile 



67 



In it were all sorts of animals, reptiles and birds. Then 
he heard a voice telling him to kill one of these to eat. 

But Peter said: "No, Lord; for I have never eaten any- 
thing common or unclean." That is, he had always 



m 




An Eastern House-Top 

obeyed the rules of the Jews which forbade their eating 
of certain animals, and ordered that those to be eaten 
should always be killed in a certain way. But the voice 
replied: "What God has cleansed do not call common." 
This happened three times and then it was drawn up 
again into the sky. 

While Peter was thinking over the vision and wondering 



68 



The Heralds of the King 



what it could mean, the three men from Cornelius came up 
to the outside gate and called out to know if a man called 
Simon Peter was staying there. The Spirit said to Peter: 
" Three men are seeking you. Go down and go with them, 
for I have sent them to you. *'* Then Peter went down to 
the men and said: "I am the man you are seeking. Why 
have you come?'* Then the men told him how Cornelius 
had been told to send for him. Peter invited them to 
come in and stay till the next day, for it was too long a 
journey to take twice without resting between. 

Peter Visits the House of Cornelius 

In the morning Peter the three messengers, and some 
of the people of Joppa started early, and the day after 
reached Caesarea. They probably went the whole way 
on foot, as that and horseback or muleback were the only 
ways of traveling there at that time, and people as poor 
as the Apostles usually went on foot. 

Cornelius was expecting them and had invited his 
friends to come and hear what was said. So when Peter 
reached the house he found a large number of people. 
Cornelius tried to kneel and worship him as the representa- 
tive of God, but Peter would not allow it, telling him that 
he was only a man. \A hen he came into the house where 
the people were gathered Peter said that as a Jew, he was 
forbidden to visit the Gentiles. He had, however, just 
been taught that he should never call anything defiled 
till he knew more about it. 4 "'That is why I came at 
once," he said: "now tell me why you sent for me." 

Cornelius repeated to him his story of the vision and 
declared that all who were gathered together were there 
to hear what the Lord had given him to say. Then Peter 
began. 



The Message First Delivered to a Gentile 69 



"I see truly that God is no respecter of persons [that 
is, is not partial], but that men in any nation who do his 
will are acceptable to Him. The Message God sent to 
His people Israel you know yourselves, for all the country 
knew of it from the beginning by John the Baptist, — the 
story of Jesus of Nazareth, how God consecrated Him His 




A House Similar to that of Cornelius 



Christ by giving Him the Holy Spirit, and how He went 
about doing good and healing the sick, because God was 
with Him. We are witnesses to all that He did and yet 
they crucified Him! 

u But God raised Him from the dead on the third day. 
and He showed Himself openly, not to everybody, but to 
chosen witnesses, to us who ate and drank with Him after 



70 



The Heralds of the King 



His resurrection. And He charged us to tell all people 
that He is appointed by. God Judge of all men, and of 
Him it is that all the prophets spoke when they said that 
through His name all who believe in Him are forgiven." 

Peter had not finished speaking when the Holy Spirit 
fell on all who were listening to the Message. Those who 
came with Peter were astonished that such a gift should 
be given to the heathen for they had not yet learned that 
God had sent His Son for all the world. But now they 
could hear these people speaking in different languages 
and praising God as the people did on the first coming of 
the Spirit. Peter than asked: "Can any one forbid that 
these people be baptised, now that they have received the 
Holy Spirit as well as we?" So they were baptised in the 
name of Jesus Christ; and they asked Peter to stay a few 
days longer and teach them about the Kingdom. 

Peter Criticized for His Visit 

Nearly all the followers of Christ at this time were 
Jews, and they did not yet understand that the Kingdom 
was to be more than a kingdom of the Jews, more glorious 
than the former ones but of the same peoples. They 
thought it was necessary to obey all the laws and rules of 
the Jews and were displeased that Peter should have 
visited and even eaten with Gentiles, that is, people who 
were not Jews. So Peter had to defend himself against 
their criticisms. When he went back to Jerusalem he 
told them the whole story just as it had occurred. 

First he described his vision on the housetop in Joppa; 
and the arrival of the three men sent to find him. He then 
told of his reaching the house of Cornelius and learning 
from him of his vision which had made him send for Peter. 
"I had but just begun to speak," he continued, "when the 



The Message First Delivered to a Gentile 71 



Holy Spirit fell on them exactly as it did on us at the 
beginning. As then God had given them the same gift 
as he did us when we believed in Jesus Christ, who was I 
that I should try to oppose God?" 

When the disciples heard Peter's story and the story of 
the six men of Joppa who had gone with him, they could 
no longer blame him, but began instead to praise God for 
showing such goodness and love even to Gentiles. But 
it was a long time before the church as a whole was really 
convinced that the Gentiles should not be forced to become 
Jewish proselytes if they wished to join the company of 
believers in Christ. We shall learn later of the discussion 
and settlement of this question. 



THE FIRST GENTILE CHURCH: ANTIOCH IN 

SYRIA 



Although we have been hearing about the doings of 
only a few of Jesus' followers, we must not forget that 
there were very many others who all this time were telling 
the Message. There were at least five hundred at the 
time of Jesus' death; three thousand more joined the band 
on the day the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit was first 
given; and the number had since then steadily increased. 
Few of these stayed in Jerusalem. Some left because 
their homes were in other places, and others because they 
were in danger in Jerusalem because of the hatred of Saul 
and other rulers of the Jews. These all gave the Message 
wherever they went, but for a good while to Jews only, 
not realizing any more than those in Judea that it was for 
all men. 

But some men who had learned of Jesus, whose home 
was at Cyprus, and at Cyrene, a city on the northern 
coast of Africa, were not satisfied, and told others, Greeks, 
of the wonderful Saviour; and the Lord's power was with 
them, and many believed on Jesus. When those still at 
Jerusalem, who were the leading men among the disciples, 
heard about the work in Antioch, they sent Barnabas, of 
whom we have heard before, himself a native of Cyprus, 
to see if all was right. On his arrival he was delighted to 
see what splendid work was being done, and encouraged 
them to be faithful to the Master. . 

Soon after this Barnabas went to Tarsus to find Saul. 
This is thought to have been about A. D. 42 or 43. When 
Barnabas found Saul he brought him to Antioch. and the 

72 



The First Gentile Church: Antioch in Syria 73 



two stayed there a whole year teaching the people and 
holding meetings. It is interesting to know that it was at 
Antioch, this city on the northeast corner of the Mediter- 
ranean Sea, that the followers of Jesus first were called 
"Christians" or "people of Christ," as the "People of 
America" are called "Americans." 

About this time some prophets from Jerusalem came 
down to Antioch. One of them, whose name was Agabus, 
said that before long there was to be a famine over all the 
world that was then known. This famine really came not 
very long afterwards. Y\ hen the Christians heard this 
prophecy they decided to send as much money as they 
could spare to the "Church" or group of Christians in 
Jerusalem to use for the poor. Xot only were there likely 
to be more poor in the larger city Jerusalem, than in other 
places, but as the church there was the first one formed, 
"the Mother Church," it was always considered as having 
the most authority, and they could there learn of need 
anywhere, and send the money to help the poor in any 
place. This money was taken to Jerusalem by Barnabas 
and Saul. 



THE PERSECUTION BY HEROD 



The Arrest of the Apostles James and Peter 

Just about this time the Christians in Jerusalem began 
to suffer from the enemies of the Cause. This we know 
was in the Spring of A. D. 44, fourteen years after Jesus' 
death. This is the first date we are absolutely sure about 
after the crucifixion. There was a king in Judea now, 
although he ruled under the Romans. His name was 
Herod Agrippa I, and he was the grandson of Herod the 
Great, by whose orders the children of Bethlehem were 
killed soon after the birth of Jesus. He was disliked by 
the Jews because he was not really a Jew, but an Idumean, 
by race, and also because he was ruling under Roman law. 

This Herod decided that he would do something against 
the Christians. The first thing he did was to kill James 
the brother of John, who was one of the first four disciples 
called by Jesus to be with Him. When he found the Jews 
were pleased at this he arrested Peter also. It was just 
before the Jewish. Passover feast, so he put him in prison 
till that was over. He was in the military prison with its 
great doors and heavy iron gates. Two soldiers stayed 
in the room with him all the time, fastened each to one of 
Peter's arms with chains; one more stood outside the door 
and one a little farther along the passage leading to the 
outside gate. These were changed every three hours so 
that none had a chance to get tired. 

They surely thought they had him safe, and very 
possibly took all this pains because they knew that once 
before he had escaped from prison. Herod intended to 

74 




A Quaternion of Roman Soldiers 



The Persecution by Herod 



77 



passage after another, no one noticing them, and at last 
went out of the prison into the street. Then the angel 
disappeared. Peter, who never thought it real, but 
supposed he was dreaming, came to his senses in the cool 
night air, and said to himself: — "Now I know surely that 
the Lord sent His angel to deliver me from Herod." 

So he went to the house of one of his friends, Mary the 
mother of the Mark who wrote the Gospel by that name. 
He knocked at the little door to the courtyard, for all was 
fastened up for safety, though there were many in the 




Outer and Inner Doors 



house praying for Peter, A young girl named Rhoda 
answered the knock, and when she heard his familiar 
voice answering her question of "Who's there?" she lost 
her senses completely. Instead of unfastening the door 
at once and letting him in out of the chill and the danger, 



7* 



The Heralds of the King 



she ran into the house again, into the room where the 
people were, and cried: " Peter is standing outside the 
gate!" 

"You are crazy/ 5 they all said, but she insisted that 
it was so. Then they said: "It is his guardian angel;" 
for all people believed then that each person had an angel 
whose duty it was to care for him in danger. But Peter 
went on knocking! and at last some one opened the door, 
and sure enough there was Peter himself! They were 
very much astonished to see him there, and probably all 
began to talk at once. But Peter held up his hand for 
silence and told them the whole story. Then, asking them 
to see that the officers of the church knew of it he went 
away from Jerusalem. 

The soldiers in the morning were very much excited 
and troubled as to what had become of Peter! Herod 
tried to find him. without success. So the soldiers who 
had failed in their duty were killed, according to the 
Roman law. 

The Death of Herod 

\ ery soon after Peter's escape Herod went to Caesarea 
which was the capital of the Roman Province of Palestine. 
The people of Tyre and Sidon. two cities on the seacoast 
north of Caesarea. had displeased Herod greatly, we do not 
know how. When they learned that he was at Caesarea 
they sent messengers to him. But they did not dare to 
ask to see the king at once, so they in some way gained one 
of his chief officers, Blastus, over to their side, and through 
him asked for forgiveness and peace. Then on a day 
agreed upon Herod put on his royal robes and sat on a 
throne and made an oration to the messengers in the 
presence of a large number of the people. 



The Persecution by Herod 



79 



All kings were very fond of flattery, and the people who 
crowded around, seeing the beautiful garments and jewels 
flashing in the sunlight, and hearing the eloquence of 
Herod, shouted out: "It is the voice of a god and not of a 
man." Herod was proud and happy, but it did not last 
long. Being a Jew by religion he knew such flattery was 
wrong, and his punishment came at once. Just as they 
were shouting he began to have the most violent pain, 
and had to be carried into the palace, where after a few 
days of great suffering he died. This we know from other 
histories was in the Spring of A. D. 44. 

Of course the death of Herod put a stop to the perse- 
cution he had begun, and the church grew and increased 
in power and strength. 



THE FIRST GREAT MISSIONARY JOURNEY 



Saul and Barnabas Ordained as Missionaries 

Two or three years after the death of Herod a very 
important step was taken by the Christians. The 
Apostles and chief teachers still remained at Jerusalem, as 
they had ever since the death of Christ. But at Antioch 
there were now, sixteen or seventeen years after Jesus' 
death, a good number of fine men, — Barnabas and Saul 
were there, having returned there after they had finished 
their errand to Jerusalem, and several others are named, 
of whom we know nothing more. 

As they worshiped and prayed for help in the work, 
the Holy Spirit told them to appoint Barnabas and Saul 
for special work. So after a sort of ordination service 
they started on a missionary tour through the other 
countries which knew nothing of Christ. John Mark, who 
later wrote the Gospel, a cousin of Barnabas, though 
probably much younger, went with them to wait on them 
so that they might be able to use all their time in working 
for the Kingdom. 

The Missionaries in Cyprus 

These missionaries went to the nearest seaport, Se- 
leucia,and from there sailed to the island of Cyprus, where 
Barnabas' home had been. As soon as they landed they 
began to preach the Gospel in the synagogue of the Jews. 
They traveled through the entire island from Salamis at 
one end to Paphos at the other. But we do not know 
anything that happened except at Paphos. 

80 



The First Great Missionary Journey 



si 



There a Jew, a false prophet or magician, something 
like Simon of Samaria, was living with the Roman governor, 
who was a man of education, and willing to hear the word 
of God. This Jew was called Elymas, which means 
"magician;" his name was Bar-Jesus. When he heard 




Elymus Struck Blind, by Raphael 



Saul, who from this time we hear of always by his Roman 
name, Paul, he tried to persuade the governor not to hear 
or believe him. Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, rebuked 
him very sharply. 

He said: "O man full of deceit and mischief, son of the 
evil one, enemy of all that is right, will you not stop trying 
to turn men out of the right way? Now God's hand is 
upon you, and you shall be totally blind, not even able to 



82 



The Heralds of the King 



tell light from darkness, for a time, " or till God saw fit to 
restore him. At once he became blind and called for some 
one to lead him by the hand lest he hurt himself. We 
know no more of this man. It may be that the chance to 
think which it gave him may have taught Elymas as it did 
Paul to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. But all around 
were much impressed and the governor believed that the 
missionaries were the messengers of God, and became a 
disciple of Jesus. 

From Cyprus to Antioch in Pisidia 

Paul and those who were with him left Cyprus in the 
spring or summer, and sailed north to the mainland of 
Asia Minor, now Turkey in Asia. They landed in the 
town of Perga in a small country called Pamphylia. But 
they did not stay there long. There is a good deal of 
malaria in this region in the summer now, and probably 
there was then. So they started at once for Antioch in 
the country of Pisidia among the mountains one hundred 
miles from the seacoast. But before they left Perga 
John Mark left them and went home to Jerusalem. 
Some say the young man was merely homesick, but it is 
much kinder to think that he was sick with this malaria 
and felt he could not go on with the hard journey, and this 
explanation is also one very likely to be true. 

Thev stayed a good while at Antioch because it was a 
large city and there were many travelers passing through 
it. Their first act was, as usual, to go quietly into the 
synagogue where the Jews were worshiping on the 
Sabbath day. Of course the presence of the strangers 
would be noticed, so when the leaders were ready for what 
we would call the sermon they sent to them to see if they 
would speak to the people. 



The First Great Missionary Journey 83 



Paul was very glad of the chance, and at once stood up. 
"Men of Israel, 5 ' he began, u and all present who fear 
God." Then giving a very short statement of a few of 
the most important facts of their history, he declared that 
God had, according to His promise, sent a Saviour, Jesus, 
to His people, Israel. John the Baptist, he said, preached 
the baptism of repentance, but he himself said that One 
Who was coming after him was far above him. 

"Brethren," Paul went on, "men of the race of Abra- 
ham, it is to you that this salvation is sent. For the Jews 
of Jerusalem and their leaders have refused Him and killed 
Him, though they knew He was innocent. But all was 
done as our great prophets had said so long ago. and God 
raised Him from the dead, a fact that is proved by many 
witnesses. And now we are bringing you the Good Xews 
that the Messiah that you have so longed for has come. 
But He is not dead, for He was too great to be conquered 
by Death; He is alive with God, and through Him we all 
may receive forgiveness for our sins. But see that you 
do not despise Him and reject Him, for punishment will 
come if you do. " 

The people in the synagogue were very glad to hear 
Paul, and asked him to speak to them again the next 
Sabbath. A good number of the hearers followed Paul 
and talked further with him. and the next Sabbath the 
crowds that came to hear Paul made it seem as if every- 
one in the city was there. 

Turning to the Gentiles 

But when the Jewish leaders saw the crowds that came 
to hear Paul they were very jealous. Xo such numbers 
ever came to hear what they had to say! Besides, if what 
he said was true they could not go on teaching just as 



8 4 



The Heralds of the King 



they had before. So they began to make trouble for 
him, contradicting what he said and calling him bad 
names. At last Paul and Barnabas could stand it no 
longer but said boldly: "It was necessary to bring the 
Message first to you because you are the leaders of God's 
people here. But now you have refused it and proved 
yourselves unworthy of this eternal life, — we shall give 
our Message to the Gentiles. For thus our God has 
commanded us. " 

When the Gentiles learned that Paul had offered them 
freely the word of life they were glad and many believed 
and became Christians. So for some time, probably for 
several months, the teachers stayed in Antioch and 
taught the people about Christ. 

The Visit to Iconium 

After a time, however, the Jews who had been so bitter 
against Paul stirred up the men and women who were most 
devoted to the Jewish religion, persuading them that it 
was in danger; and they raised up a persecution against 
Paul and Barnabas and forced them to leave the city. 
They went to Iconium, a city in the same mountainous 
region, but in another province a little to the southeast. 
But they left happiness behind them among the people 
who had accepted Christ as their Saviour. 

Xot discouraged at their treatment at Antioch, Paul 
and Barnabas did in Iconium just as usual: they went 
into a synagogue of the Jews and spoke to the people so 
plainly that many of them believed in Christ both among 
the Greeks and the Jews themselves. 

But there too the Jews who did not wish to believe 
stirred up the people against the Apostles and the new 
converts. Paul was not sent away at once but stayed 



The First Great Missionary 



85 



for some months teaching and preaching and doing many 
wonderful things. After a time, however, the Jews had 
their way and a plot was formed to take the missionaries 
and stone them. By some means they learned of the 
plan and fled to another part of the same province where 
were two important cities. Lystra and Derbe. 

"Gods in the Likeness of Men!" 

At Lystra they found a man who had been lame ever 
since he was born. — very much like the man at the Beauti- 
ful Gate of the Temple who begged of Peter and John and 
received such a wonderful gift. This man was among 
those who were listening to Paul, and Paul, looking 
straight into his eyes was sure that he was one who be- 
lieved and had faith enough to be healed. So he said to 
him in a loud voice: "Stand upright on thy feet!" The 
man obeyed at once, jumped at his feet, and stood and 
walked. 

The people who were standing around in crowds were 
very much excited. They had never seen such a thing as 
that before. They shouted out therefore in their own 
language: "The gods have come down to us in the likeness 
of men!"' for who but a god had power so great. So they 
called Barnabas "Jupiter, " the king of the gods, prob- 
ably because he was older and more dignified than Paul, 
and Paul became "Mercury," the messenger of the gods, 
because he brought the Message. 

Of course the report of the affair spread very rapidly 
through the city, and the priest of Jupiter came with oxen 
and garlands to offer a sacrifice to the gods who had so 
honored them. 

Paul and Barnabas either did not understand the 
language in which the people had spoken, or else they had 



86 



The Heralds of the King 



gone into some house before the cry was raised, so they did 
not know for some time what was going on. When at 
last they heard of the plan for a sacrifice they rushed out 
to the place where the priest stood, tore their garments 
as a sign of sorrow and cried: 




Paul and Barnabas at Lystra, by Raphael 



"Sirs, whyare you doing this? We are men just like 
you and are only bringing£you good news so that you 
should turn from these things to the worship of the living 
God Who made everything in heaven and earth, — the God 
Who gives you rain and fruitful fields, satisfying your 
needs and making you happy." At last they succeeded 
in stopping the sacrifice. 

Soon after this the same Jews who had been so bitter 



The First Great Missionary Journey 



87 



at Antioch and Iconium came down to Lystra. It shows 
how strongly they felt that they should have come a 
hundred miles on foot or horseback for the sake of keeping 
Paul from preaching the Gospel! The people of Lystra 
were very excitable, and were as easily stirred against the 
Apostles as they had been in their favor before. There 
was a riot and Paul was stoned and dragged out of the 
city, his enemies thinking that he was dead. 

But while the Christians were standing around him, 
to give what aid they could or to care for his body if he 
were really dead, he rose and went back with them into 
the city for the night. The next day he and Barnabas 
went to Derbe, a city not far away, where they again 
preached the Gospel and taught the people. 

Home Again 

Derbe was at the edge of the Roman Empire and be- 
yond it the Apostles thought it unwise to go. It might 
not have been safe for subjects of Rome to travel there, 
and the people would probably not have understood their 
words, So they retraced their steps, going again to the 
three cities where they had been so badly treated, talking 
to the Christians there, begging them to continue faithful 
to Christ and telling them that they must expect trouble 
and sorrow. 

Then Paul and Barnabas ordained the elders the 
churches had chosen, prayed with the Christians and left 
them in the care of God. 

At last they reached Antioch in Syria which they had 
left two or three years before. There must have been 
some excitement when these first foreign missionaries 
returned to the home church. We consider it a great 
thing now to have "a real live missionary 5 ' speak to us 



88 



The Heralds of the King 



and tell us of what he has seen and done in his work for 
the people of strange lands. And we can hear from 
missionaries at almost any time, by mail or cablegram: 
and none are absent two or three years without some 
letters passing back and forth. 

But in those days there was no telegraph, no railroad, 
no regular mail service: no way of sending letters to friends 
except by special messenger, unless one chanced to find a 
man going on his own account. Probably the people of 
Antioch had not heard from Paul and Barnabas since they 
left. So a meeting was called together to hear what they 
had to say. and the whole story of their tour was told, to 
the great rejoicing of the hearers. The missionaries 
stayed there some time, resting and probably preaching 
and teaching. It was what we call the missionaries" 
" furlough. " 



GENTILES OR JEWS? 



The Discussion 

Not long after the missionaries returned to their home 
church at Antioch, some men came there from Judea, the 
part of Palestine near Jerusalem, and told the Christians 
that they could not be saved unless they became Jewish 
proselytes as well as Christians, and observed the laws of 
Moses as well as the commands of Christ. Now this did 
not at all agree with what Paul and Barnabas had been 
teaching and they did not believe it at all. They tried 
argument against it, but it was of no use, and there was 
danger of a quarrel. 

So it was decided to send quite a number of men to 
Jerusalem where the church was the oldest and under the 
strongest Jewish influences, to ask advice. There were 
quite a number of the Apostles still there, and many men 
of great ability, and for this reason it was known that the 
question would be carefully and fairly considered and 
answered. And any decision of this church would be 
respected and obeyed among Christian Jews everywhere. 

It was a journey of some three hundred miles from 
Antioch south to Jerusalem and it must have taken the 
messengers a long while. On the way they stopped 
among little groups of Christians and told them about the 
beginning of the work among the Gentiles and great was 
the joy of all. When they reached Jerusalem a great 
meeting was held where Paul and Barnabas told again 
the story of their missionary journey. But some of the 
Christians who had belonged to the Pharisees, the strictest 

89 



go 



The Heralds of the King 



sect among the Jews, rose in the meeting and declared 
that all converts ought to become Jews first and obey all 
the laws of Moses. 

Now this was really a very important question. It is 
even more important to us than to the people of those 
times, for think how it would be today if all had had to 
become Jews before they could be Christians. Many of 
the Greeks and Romans would never have consented to 
become Jews though they accepted Christ as their Saviour. 
If the church at Jerusalem decided that no one but a Jew 
or a Jewish proselyte could be a Christian, either the 
church of Christ would have been confined to the small 
number of Jews in the world, or there would have been 
two independent churches, one of Jews and one of Gentiles. 
All Christ had required was faith and love, and many had 
believed in Him who did not believe in the laws of Moses. 

How it was Settled 

Another meeting was held to consult as to the best way 
to decide the question. After considerable discussion 
Peter rose and said: " Brethren, you know how a good 
while ago [about ten years] God chose me, that from me 
Gentiles should hear the Gospel and believe. And God 
who knows men's hearts gave them the Holy Spirit, as He 
did to us, making no distinction between us because of 
our race. Now why should you make it so hard for these 
new converts; wishing to force them to try to keep strict 
rites and ceremonies that we all find it hard to keep? 
We believe that both we and they are saved by God's 
grace, and not by this keeping of the law. " 

Paul and Barnabas told again all the wonders and 
marvels God had done among the Gentiles through them. 

Then James, who was for a long time the real head of 



Gentiles or Jezvs: 



91 



the Church, rose and gave his opinion. "Simeon," he 
said, (that is, Peter), "has told how God first visited the 
Gentiles to win from them His followers: and even our old 
Hebrew prophets have declared that the Gentiles shall 
seek after Him and find Him. Wherefore my judgment 




Altar with Statue of J polio 



is that we do not trouble the Gentiles with our Jewish 
rules and regulations but write them to keep (1) from 
pollutions of idols; (2) from fornication; (3) from things 
strangled; and (4) from blood; because for many years in 
every city there are services in Jewish synagogues where 
Moses' laws are taught." 

Xow it is hard for us to understand what these four 
things mean unless we know something about the life of 



92 



The Heralds of the King 



these Gentile cities. The people were all idolaters, and 
much of their daily life centered around the idol. 

Animals were sacrificed to the idols and then either 
eaten by the family or at feasts or sold in the public market. 
All the best Christians even of that day knew that the 
idols were nothing at all and no meat was injured in any 
way because it had been offered to the idol-image. But 
there were a great many who had only just left the wor- 
ship of idols who could not quite yet understand that they 
were nothing but called them false gods, or evil beings. 




A Rc man Feast 



Then too, the idolaters themselves must see a difference 
between themselves and the Christians if they were to be 
won to Christianity. These meats were the " pollutions of 
idols." " Fornication" meant here the idol feasts which 
were evil in every way, but very common among the 
idolaters. The other two refer to the method of killing 
animals for food. The Jews had their own way of killing, 
taught in the law of Moses, and used by them even to this 




A Simple M eal 



94 



Gentiles or Jews? 



day. The blood of the animal must be shed, and none 
remain to be eaten. 

So we see that what James really meant was this: 
all the Christians must keep away from all idol feasts or 
any places where the people were drinking or acting 
improperly; they must not eat meat offered to idols; and 
must not eat what was especially forbidden to Jews, 
because there were Jews in every city, and in every band 
of Christians, and their laws were publicly taught in every 
city. 

We should use the same principle in doing things that 
others think wrong when we do not; as Paul said in one 
of his letters: "if meat causes my brother to stumble I 
will eat no meat for evermore, that I cause not my brother 
to stumble." 

Every one was pleased with this decision, — each side 
was to give up what was especially disliked by the other. 
So the officers of the Church wrote a letter to the Christian 
Gentiles in Antioch and all the country near, telling what 
the decision was and why they had made it. Then they 
sent two of the Christians of Jerusalem, Judas and Silas, 
to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. Of course they had 
been anxiously expected because no report of their doings 
could have reached Antioch before this. At once a meet- 
ing was held and the letter read, amid great rejoicing. 
Judas and Silas remained there some time, preaching and 
teaching the people. Paul and Barnabas were also in 
Antioch and probably others of the leading men, for 
Antioch was a large place and there were many coming 
and going. 



THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 



A Difference of Opinion Between Good Men 

After a while Paul thought it time to go again into Asia 
Minor and see how the churches they had founded were 
getting on. Barnabas agreed to it, and wanted to take 
John Mark with them again. Paul was not willing to 
risk it. Mark had left them before just as they needed 
him most and whether he was to blame for it or not Paul 
was afraid it might happen again. Neither was willing 
to yield and they decided to separate and make two 
parties instead of one. 

Barnabas took Mark and went to Cyprus, and is not 
again mentioned in the Acts. But Paul speaks of him 
with honor in his letters and also of Mark who became 
a strong man among the Christians. Paul chose Silas, 
one of the two sent from Jerusalem with him, and started 
his journey by a tour around the country near Antioch 
before going to Asia Minor. 

Timothy 

When Paul and Silas were in Lystra on this trip they 
met there a young man named Timothy. His mother 
Eunice was a Jewish Christian and his father was a Greek. 
All that knew him spoke well of him and Paul wanted him 
to go with them on the journey, to help them. Paul was 
very anxious not to give any offence to others and as he 
knew many still thought all converts ought to be Jews as 
well as Christians, he had Timothy circumcised so that 
he would be a true Jew. The fact that his father was a 

95 



9 6 



The Heralds of the King 



Greek was the reason why it had not been done before. 

Paul always said in his teaching that every one had a 
right to do whatever he wished that was not really wrong, 
but he also always said that every one had a right to re- 
fuse to do as he wished if he thought he could help people 
that way. That is one reason for this action of his in 
regard to Timothy. Besides the Jews would not have 
listened to him if he was half a Gentile, and had not taken 
steps to become a true Jew. 




Costumes of Arab and Greek 



So Paul and Silas and Timothy went through all the 
cities where Paul and Barnabas had been before, teaching 
the Christians and telling them the decision of the leaders 
at Jerusalem in regard to the need of becoming Jews. 

The Cry from Macedonia 

After visiting all the churches they had founded the 
missionaries tried to preach the Gospel in other parts of 
Asia Minor, but in some way they were not allowed to do 



The Second Missionary Journey 97 



so. One night when they were in Troas, a city near the 
Hellespont, Paul had a dream in which he seemed to see 
a man dressed as a Macedonian Greek, standing and saying 
to him: "Come over into Macedonia and help us!" At 
once they felt that since they could not preach where they 
were they would at least try to see if the way was open to 
go to Greece. 

Luke for the first time says "we" and "us" here, so 
most students think that he met Paul at Troas and made 
this part of the journey with him. He was with him a 




A Ship of Paul's. Time 



good deal from this time and it was a very good thing for 
Paul, for he was not at all well and strong and no doubt 
was kept better and more able to preach by having a 
physician with him as his traveling companion. However, 
at this time he only traveled with him for a little while. 

The little party of Christians took a ship at Troas and 
sailed for Neapolis, a seaport at the Northeast corner of 
the Egean Sea, in that part of Macedonia which for very 
many years belonged to Turkey, but which in the Balkan 
war of 1913 was taken from them and given back to Greece, 



9 8 



The Heralds of the King 



The winds were not favorable and it took them five days 
to reach their port, a trip not over one hundred and fifty 
miles. 

Philippi, the principal city of that part of Macedonia, 
was about ten miles from Neapolis, where they left the 
ship. It was a Roman " colony," meaning a free city 
governing itself like Rome. 

On the first Sabbath they were in the city they found 
a small place where the Jews were accustomed to meet 
for prayer, outside the gates, by a river side. Very likely 
there was no synagogue, and the rulers of the city might 
not have allowed them to meet within the gates, as was 
for a long time the fact in regard to Protestant churches 
in Italy. The missionaries sat down and talked to the 
people who came there. 

One of the women who was there was Lydia, a seller of 
the richly dyed purple garments made in Thyatira, a city 
in Asia Minor. She must have been a rich woman, for 
these purple garments were very costly, and it required 
a large capital to enter the business, and large fortunes 
were usually made by those who dealt in them. This 
Lydia heard Paul speak and believed his Message. She 
was baptised and soon after brought the members of her 
household, that is, whoever was in her family, whether 
children, slaves or work-people. Lydia begged' the 
missionaries to make their home with her while they were 
there, and she begged so hard that they consented. 

The Slave Girl 

On several days as Paul and his friends were going to 
the place of prayer they met a poor slave girl who was at 
least partly crazy. She was the slave of a company of 
men who made much money through her answers to 



The Second Missionary Journey 99 



people who wanted to find out about the future. Very 
likely she said things that could be taken in more ways 
than one so that whatever happened they could not be 
blamed. You remember, perhaps, the Oracle at Delphi, 
which was something like this, where the answer was once 
given that "Rome Pyrrhus shall conquer." Pyrrhus 
thought it meant that he should conquer Rome, but to 
his cost found that the truth was that Rome conquered 
Pyrrhus! 

When the poor girl saw Paul she cried out: "These 
men are servants of the Most High God who are telling 
you the way to be saved." She did this a good many 
times. Whether she had some knowledge of Paul and 
some sense of what she was saying we do not know, Peo- 
ple in her condition have often more sense than people 
think, and really say very bright things at times. 

But whatever the cause of her words Paul did not want 
that sort of advertisement. So at last he stopped when 
she called out, and told the crazy spirit to leave her, and 
at once she was made well. But this made her masters 
very angry. They cared not at all about the girl, but 
they wanted the money she brought them. So they 
seized Paul and Silas and took them before the judges 
and said: "These men, Jews, are troubling the city 
greatly, teaching customs which we Romans feel are 
wrong." The only trouble so far was their interference 
with their money-making, but that even in our day is 
enough to make many people fight hard against the 
Gospel and all religion. 

The accusation was of course believed, especially by 
the crowds which always gather in such cases, and the 
judges ordered them to be well beaten with rods. After 
this was done they were put into prison with the command 



IOO 



The Heralds of the King 



to the jailer to keep them safely. Prisons in that day 
were not like those in Christian countries today; they 
were miserable holes, an inner room without light or air 
save by a door leading to an outer room, and the doors 
fastened by iron rods put across them. All prisoners were 
fastened by chains on either hands or feet, or both, to 
rings in the wall which was usually of mud or bricks. 




A Prisoner in Stocks 



The jailer having been charged to keep Paul and Silas 
securely put them into the inner room; and worse yet 
put their feet into stocks or wooden frames with holes 
just large enough to admit one's ankles. These were 
different distances apart and it was impossible to either 
sit or lie in a comfortable position. 

The Earthquake 

Certainly Paul and Silas would not be blamed for some 
soberness and even groaning with the pain of the terrible 
whipping, the darkness, and dirtiness of the prison, and 



The Second Missionary Journey ioi 



their uncomfortable if not really painful position. But 
no! Instead of that, since they were unable to sleep they 
prayed and sang hymns of praise to God so that the other 
prisoners were listening to them. Is this not a wonderful 
proof of what the love of Christ can do for his followers! 

Suddenly, at midnight, there was a great earthquake, 
and the house in which was the prison was shaken, the 
bars were shaken out of their sockets and the doors flew 
open; the rings were shaken from the walls, and the 
prisoners were loose. 

The earthquake woke the jailer, whose first thought 
was for his prisoners. Going to the entrance and seeing 
all the doors standing open he was sure all the prisoners 
had fled, and drew his sword to kill himself; for death was 
the Roman penalty for losing prisoners, and he preferred 
suicide to the shame of execution. But Paul, either 
hearing him, or seeing his form against the lighter outer 
court, called out: "Do thyself no harm, for we are all 
here." 

The jailer, overjoyed, called for a light, and went into 
the prison. Connecting in some way this earthquake 
with these strange prisoners who had made such a wonder- 
ful cure, and who remained prisoners when they could be 
free, he fell on his knees before Paul and Silas, brought 
them out of the prison, and said: "Sirs, what must I do 
to be saved?" Not saved from punishment from the 
Romans, for there was no longer any danger of that, since 
the prisoners were not escaped; but saved from the wrath 
of such a powerful God as the one who seemed to him to 
be avenging already in this wonderful way the wrong 
done to His servants. 

Paul answered: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou 
shalt be saved." And they held a meeting right there, 



102 



The Heralds of the King 



the Apostles and the jailer and his family, and the Gospel 
was preached to them. They all believed and were bap- 
tised. The jailer washed the sore backs of Paul and 
Silas and gave them food to eat and made them com- 
fortable for the rest of the night. 

The Release 

The next morning the rulers, who either thought they 
had yielded too much to the mob the day before, or who 
had been frightened by the earthquake, sent their officers 
the Roman "lictors," to the prison with the order to let 
the men Paul and Silas go. The jailer was much pleased, 
and told them that they might go free. But Paul, as 
much for the good of the young church there as for him- 
self, had determined to have real justice. "No, " he said, 
"these rulers have had us beaten publicly, without a trial, 
and condemnation, though we are both Roman citizens, 
and have put us into prison. They must not now let us 
go secretly, they must come themselves and set us free." 

These words were reported to the rulers and they were 
much afraid when they learned that they were Roman 
citizens. To be a Roman citizen gave great privileges in 
those days. It was said that "to be a Roman was greater 
than to be a king. " One of these privileges was that. they 
should not be beaten at all, and not even put into prison 
save after a fair trial. Any one doing these things to a 
Roman citizen was liable to severe punishment, and per- 
haps to death. So the rulers came at once and begged 
them not to make complaint against them, brought them 
out of the prison, and asked them to go away from the 
city, lest there be a further disturbance. 

So after being set free Paul and Silas went to their 



The Second Missionary Journey 103 



home at Lydia's house, and after meeting with the Chris- 
tians and setting their minds at ease, they left the city. 

Success and Jealousy at Thessalonica 

Paul, Silas and Timothy traveled from Philippi along 
the coast of the Egean Sea, through Amphipolis, a town 
famous in Greek history during the Peloponnesian war, 
and Apollonia, to Thessalonica, about one hundred miles 
from Philippi. This was the largest town in Macedonia, 
a very important city then, and now also under the name 
of Salonica, or Saloniki. It was Salonica which was the 
home as missionary of Miss Ellen Stone, who was captured 
by the brigands several years ago and held for ransom till 
the people of America paid the money to set her free. It 
was also often spoken of during the great European 
War which began in 1914. 

In Thessalonica was a Jewish synagogue, and Paul be- 
gan teaching there. Three Sabbaths he attended service 
there and spoke to the people, proving to them out of their 
own Scriptures that the Alessiah was to be a man who 
should suffer death and rise again; and also declaring that 
the Jesus whom he preached was the Messiah. A number 
of his hearers believed his words, a few being Jews, but for 
the most part Greeks and women. 

As so often happened the Jews were jealous and finding 
some street-loungers who were very willing to make 
trouble for anybody, they gathered a crowd, went to the 
house where Paul was staying with a man named Jason, 
attacked the house and tried to find the missionaries. 
When they found they were not in the house they took 
Jason and several Christians they found and made them 
go before the rulers of the city. When before the judges 
the Jews said: "The men who are turning the world upside 



io 4 



The Heralds of the King 



down have come to Thessalonica and are living with this 
Jason. They do many things against the laws of Caesar 
saying that they have another king, one Jesus." 

Of course we see how they got this idea. Jesus is our 
King: he was the King of the Jews and of the Christians; 
but not in the sense these men understood it. Every one 
on earth is His subject, and being under His rule does not 
interfere with the service of any other right-doing king. 
Y\ hat they said is also interesting because it shows what 
great influence Christianity already had. 

The crowds and the rulers of the city were much 
troubled at this accusation. They believed that Paul was 
working against the rightful king of Rome, and so ought to 
be punished. But Paul was not in their presence, and 
what should they do with these men? So they made 
Jason and the rest deposit a sum of money which should 
be forfeited if anything against the laws was done bv the 
missionaries who were their guests. Then they let them 
go. The Christian company at once sent Paul and Silas 
away by night to Berea. a city about fifty miles distant. 
They were afraid, not that Paul and Silas would do things 
against the law. but that the jealous Jews would make 
the rulers believe that they had. and so have an excuse to 
persecute the little band of Christians. 

The Xoble Bereaxs 

Paul and Silas did not keep quiet at Berea any more 
than at Thessalonica. They went into the synagogue as 
usual and taught the people about Christ. These Jews 
were better in character. ;, more noble" our common 
version of the Bible says, than those who had just been so 
jealous of the missionaries. They read their Scriptures 
carefully to see whether the prophecies read as Paul 



Paul Preaching to the Thessalonians, by Dor 



io6 



The Heralds of the King 



claimed, and if they could be explained as he explained 
them. And they were ready and willing to be convinced 
that he was right. So a good many Jews as well as Gen- 
tiles believed on Jesus and accepted Him as their Saviour. 

But the Jews of Thessalonica were not willing that 
Paul should stay so near them. When they found out 
that he was at Berea and preaching Christ, they went 
there themselves and stirred up the people who did not 
yet believe in Christ. And the missionaries seem to have 
been in real danger. So Paul and several of the Christians 
of the city as guides started from Berea towards the Egean 
Sea, finally reaching Athens, the greatest city in Greece. 
Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea, for some reason, and 
when Paul and his guides reached the end of their journey 
and the Bereans bade Paul goodbye, they carried messages 
to them to come to Paul at Athens as soon as possible. 

A Sermon in Beautiful Athens 

Athens, the great and glorious capital of Greece, — the 
home of art and learning, — where there were so many 
famous teachers that the Roman boys hardly thought 
they had a fair education without spending some time 
there, — the place so filled with beautiful buildings and 
statues that hundreds visit it today just to see the few 
ruins that are left after all these centuries,— Athens, had 
never before been visited by Paul and he was greatly im- 
pressed by all he saw. He probably spent several weeks 
there in all, and no doubt passed much of his time walking 
amid the beauties of the city, or listening to the words of 
the famous teachers. 

But beauty and learning were not of great account in 
his mind when he saw the city full of idols and idol altars. 
For with so many people of all regions coming there altars 



The Second Missionary Journey 



107 



had been erected 'to every god of every nation, and then, 
lest perhaps they had forgotten one who might take re- 
venge on them for the slight, they erected one or more 
"To an Unknown God." Some think that the God of 
the Jews, among others, was thus meant to be honored. 

We know Paul too well to think that he could keep 
silence, though it is not probable that the missionaries 
had ever intended to do any work here, — certainly not 
Paul alone, before being joined by others. 




The Acropolis Restored 



But Paul could not rest; he discussed the question in 
the synagogues with the Jews and all who worshiped 
there, and not satisfied even with this he mingled with 
the crowd in the great square of the city and talked with 
every one he met. It was easy to do this, for the Athe- 
nians were famous for their willingness to talk, especially 
about something new or strange. 



io8 



The Heralds of the King 



By this means he happened to talk with some of the 
teachers and students of the great schools. Two famous 
schools were those of the Epicureans and the Stoics. The 
Epicu reans were followers of a man named Epicurus who 
taught that the purpose of life was pleasure —not the 
pleasure of a moment or of a single day, but of the whole 
life; so that evil was to be shunned because it brought 
unhappiness. But the philosophers of Paul's day had 
forgotten the best of his teaching. The Stoics, the 
followers of Zeno, who taught in a porch or stoa said 
that nothing made any difference anyway; pleasure 
amounted to nothing and pain was no evil. So bear 
everything that comes in quiet, whether good or evil, for 
neither really matters. 

Some of these men said: "What is this babbler saying? " 
That is, "this fellow who has picked up crumbs of learn- 
ing." What has he to say to such wise persons as we? 
Others said he seemed to be talking about strange gods. 
This was because he always spoke of Jesus to them. This 
last was a real accusation, and might have caused Paul's 
death, as it had the death of Socrates years before. When 
this was heard Paul was summoned before the great coun- 
cil of the Areopagus, consisting of the regular teachers of 
the schools at Athens, whose business it was to test all who 
came with an intention to teach, and see if they were 
worthy. They were to judge whether Paul was teaching 
anything against the law. 

These men were courteous to Paul. They asked him: 
"May we know what the new teaching is which you are 
talking about in our midst? For the things sound very 
strangely to us, and we would like to know what they 
mean. " 

We do not know just where the great council met when 



The Second Missionary Journey 109 



Paul spoke to them; but we like to think that it was on 
the hill called Areopagus, or Mars' Hill, not very far from 
the Acropolis of Athens; perhaps because if it was there 
we can ourselves stand on the very place where Paul's 
feet stood when he uttered some very famous words. 
He began very courteously. The translation of the 




Paul Preaching at Athens, by Raphael 



Greek in our common English Bibles is easy to misunder- 
stand. We think of the word " superstitious " as meaning 
something rather ignorant and low. Paul would not have 
begun by telling his hearers they were ignorant, even if 
they had not been the wisest men in the world at the time! 
What he really meant was "very religious" in the sense 



no 



Heralds of the King 



of being ready to worship all the gods whose altars he had 
seen. So he said: 

"Ye men of Athens, I have seen during my stay here 
that you are very religious; for as I was walking about 
looking at the altars and statues of your city, I found an 
altar with these words upon it: 'To an Unknown God.' 
It is not a new god, but this one you have been worship- 
ing, though you did not know Him, that I have been 
talking about with the people. 

"The God that made the world and all things in it, 
being Lord of Heaven and Earth, is too great to live in a 
temple made by man, neither can men serve Him because 
He needs their service, since He Himself gave us everything 
we have, even life itself. All nations of men that live on 
the earth came from one source, God; and He knew all 
they would do, and all their history. His whole purpose 
has been that they should seek to know Him; and He is 
not hard to find for He is not far from every one of us; for 
all our life comes from Him. Even your own poets have 
said that we are His children. 

"Now if we are the children of God we ought not to 
think that our Father is like gold or silver or stone carved 
by man alone, like all these statues which represent the 
gods here. There was a time when some men could not 
know this fact, and God did not punish them, because they 
sinned through not knowing. But now He calls every 
man to repent, because He has appointed a day when . 
every man will be honestly judged as to his life in this 
world, by a Judge Who has already been appointed. 
And He has given assurance unto all men that this is so 
by raising Him from the dead." 

; |Of course Paul said more than this, but this is the 
outline of his address. When he spoke of the resurrection, 



The Second Missionary Journey 



in 



some who did not believe there was any future life sneered 
at him and jested. Others kinder, but not convinced, said: 
"We will hear you again sometime." But they found 
nothing against Paul and he was allowed to go quietly. A 
few men believed his words, among them Dionysius, one 
of the members of the great Council itself. A woman also, 
named Damaris, is mentioned, who must have become 
prominent in the church, else her name would probably 
have been forgotten. 

A Long Stay in Corinth 

Paul left Athens not long after his talk before the 
Council, not even waiting for his friends to come to him 
from Berea. He went to Corinth which was quite near 
the modern city of that name. It was also a very promi- 
nent city of Greece and for some reasons it was a good 
place to begin work for all that region of country. 

It was the center of trade and many people of all 
nations came and went through it. It was a large city 
for those times, about 400,000 population. It was a very 
wicked city, one of the worst in the world, partly because 
there was, on account of its mixed population, no pride 
of race to keep them from going to the bad; and partly 
because as so often happens in similar cases, many of the 
worst elements of the different races were gathered there. 

Paul worked first among the Jews, of course, and he 
found a Jew named Aquila, who with his wife Priscilla had 
lived in Rome until the Emperor Claudius had com- 
manded all the Jews to leave the city. This was done 
because it was not thought wise to have so many of the 
nation in Rome itself, while those in Judea were almost in 
open rebellion. This command was given early in A, D. 



112 



Heralds of the King 



52, or 22 years after Jesus' death. So we have another 
date fixed for the history we are studying. 

Aquila and especially Priscilla were people of good 
education, and we hear of them later in the story. All 
Jews were required to learn a trade even if they were to 
be men of learned professions, and Paul and Aquila were 
both tent-makers; that is they took the coarse goats' hair 
cloth and cut and sewed it into the tents used then by al- 
most every shepherd and traveler and by many others 
also. So they all lived together and supported themselves 
by their trade during the week, and every Sabbath Paul 
preached Jesus in the synagogue. 

When Silas and Timothy at last came from Berea they 
found Paul working hard, almost too hard for his strength; 
earning his living so he need not feel dependent on any 
one. and preaching Christ every time he had the chance. 
But the Jews here did not like the Message any more than 
in the other cities where Paul had been; they opposed him 
so strongly that at last he said : " Your loss is your own fault. 
I am not to blame if you will not believe. Henceforth, 
while I am in Corinth, I will give the Message to the 
Gentiles. " 

And he left the synagogue and entered the house of a 
man named Titus Justus, which was close by. But many 
Jews, even Crispus the chief ruler or leader among them, 
believed and joined the Christian worshipers. A man 
named Sosthenes became ruler in the place of Crispus, 
and of him we shall hear less pleasant tales later. 

Paul was almost ready to be discouraged, it would 
seem; perhaps because he himself was almost sick. But 
one night he had a vision of Jesus, Who said to him: "Be 
not afraid but speak the word and do not stop, for I am 
with you; no one shall hurt you for I have many in this 



The Second Missionary Journey 



113 



city who will believe in Me." So for a year and a half 
he stayed there, quietly preaching and working. During 
this period he wrote two letters that we can still read, 
those to the people of Thessalonica. These give many 
hints as to his way of living and his way of working and 
preaching, and are very interesting. 




Bedouin Tent 

It would be well to read them now in connection with 
his stay in Corinth. If the letters are hard to understand 
in the common version, or the Revised Version, use the 
translation called "The Twentieth Century New Testa- 



IIzl 



Heralds of the King 



merit,' 3 where they are put into the common language of 
today, as if they had been written for us alone. 

But there are some verses I want you to be sure and 
read, and these I am going to put right down here for you. 
And I hope you will learn them all. 

_ i Thess. 4:15, 14, 16, 17. But we would not have you 
ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that 
ye sorrow not. even as the rest, who have no hope. For 
if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them 
also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. 
. t . . For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven, 
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the 
trump of God: and the dead in Christ' shall rise first; 
then we that are alive, that are left, hall together with 
them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the 
air: and so shall Ave ever be with the Lord. 

1 Thess. 5:8-10. But let us, since we are of the day, 
be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; 
and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God ap- 
pointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of 
salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, 
that, whether we wake or sleep, Ave should live together 
with Him. 

1 Thess 5:15-24. See that none render to any one evil 
for evil; but always follow after that which is good, one 
toward another, and toward all. Rejoice always; pray 
without ceasing: in everything give thanks: for this' is the 
will of God in Christ Jesus to you-ward. Quench not the 
spirit; despise not prophesyings: prove all things; hold 
fast that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. 

And the God of peace sanctify you wholly; and may 
your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without 
blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful 
is he that calleth you, who will also do it. 

At last there came a time" when the Jews in Corinth 
rose against Paul and brought him before the iudge with 
the accusation: "This man is persuading men to worship 



The Second Missionary Journey 



US 



God contrary to the law." But the judge, Gallio, would 
not listen to them. He said if Paul had done anything 
really against Roman law he would hear the accusation; 
but since it was only against the Jewish law of religion 
they must attend to it; for he was not going to be bothered 
with it. Then the Greeks who never liked the Jews, took 
Sosthenes who was the leader in the case, and treated 
him roughly in the very presence of the judge. But Gal- 
lio, being a Roman, cared little for what he thought were 
differences of opinion among the Jews, who were not 
valued very highly by any Romans. 

The Return to the Home Church 

Paul remained quite a while after this in Corinth, and 
then sailed for home, taking with him his two friends 
Aquila and Priscilla. On the way they came to Ephesus, 
a very important city in Asia Minor. There he left his 
two friends, who had very likely come so far only on 
business, and he himself set sail after spending a day 
or so in the city. He was there at least over the Sabbath, 
on which he went to the Synagogue and spoke. Then 
he went to Jerusalem, met the church there, probably 
told them what he had been doing, attended the feast, 
and then went to Antioch from which he had been sent 
out. 



APOLLOS THE ELOQUENT 



We saw that Paul left his friends Aquila and Priscilla at 
Ephesus while he went to Jerusalem. Not very long after 
this there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos, a native 
of Alexandria in Egypt, a very learned man, especially in 
the Jewish scriptures, our old Testament. He knew 
enough of the life of Jesus to feel sure that He was the 
Messiah, but knew little of what He had taught, and 
nothing of what had happened since His death. He had 
believed the teaching of John the Baptist, but knew 
nothing of the fulfilment of his predictions. He was 
anxious to tell others all he knew, though he knew nothing 
of the best part of Christianity; and was ready to speak 
in the synagogue in behalf of Jesus as the Messiah. 

Priscilla and Aquila of course heard him speak, and saw 
that while he was honestly doing the best he could he did 
not know enough of Jesus to do the best work for Him. 
So they taught him what he needed to know: how Jesus 
had risen from the dead and ascended to the Father; and 
also all that had been done by Jesus' followers since He 
left them. 

Later Apollos decided to go to Greece, and took letters 
to the Christians there. While there he was of great help 
to the disciples, for he was earnest and learned and publicly 
argued with the Jews, showing by the Old Testament that 
Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies of the Messiah. 

While in Antioch during this furlough Paul wrote the 
letter to the Galatians which we have. While it is not 
known exactly what places were meant by "Galatia," 

116 



A polios the Eloquent 



117 



yet we do know that it included a good many of the cities 
which Paul had visited during his Second Missionary 
Journey. It would be well worth while to read this now. 
Some of the verses it is especially worth while to know are 
these: 




Antioch in Syria 



Gal. 2:20. I have been crucified with Christ; andatiis 
no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life 
which I live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is 
in the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me. 

Gal. 5:22, 23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, 
peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 
meekness, self-control; against such there is no law. 

Gal. 6:2-5. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so 
fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man thinketh himself 
to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. 
But let each man prove his own work, and then shall he 



1 1 8 Heralds of the King 

have his glorying in regard of himself alone, and not of his 
neighbor. For each man shall bear his own burden. 

Gal. 6:7. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also 
reap. 

Gal. 6:9, 10. Let us not be weary in well-doing; for in 

due season we shall reap, if we faint not. So then, as we 
have opportunity, let us work that which is good toward 
all men. 




Ancient Ephesus 



THE THIRD GREAT MISSIONARY JOURNEY 



Three Years at Ephesus 

Paul did not stay long with the home church on his 
second furlough He felt that his duty was to preach the 
Gospel, and he could not rest. So leaving Antioch he 
visited a number of the churches he had founded, preach- 
ing and teaching, and helping them in every way he could. 
In the course of his travels he came to Ephesus. While 
he had visited the city before he had not made any stop 
there, but this visit was a long one, — three years. 

Ephesus was a large city for those times, and very im- 
portant in many ways. It was, as Corinth was, a good 
place to work, and Paul found much to do. 

First he found twelve men who were like Apollos in the 
knowledge they had of Jesus. They knew what John 
the Baptist had taught and believed that Jesus was the 
Messiah, but they knew nothing of His teachings and they 
had never heard of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pente- 
cost, and later upon all believers. Paul told them that 
John preached repentance and the preparation for the 
coming of the King; and he made very clear to them that 
Jesus was the Messiah and Saviour. Then they were 
baptised in the name of Jesus Christ, and as Paul laid his 
hands on them in blessing, the Holy Spirit came to them 
as to the disciples at Pentecost. 

Paul spoke first in the Jewish synagogue, claiming and 
arguing that Jesus was the Messiah. He did this for three 
months. Then seeing that many of the Jews were be- 
coming angry and were very likely to make trouble, he 

119 



120 



Heralds of the King 



left the synagogue and held his meetings in a lecture hall 
which went by the name of Tyrannus, perhaps its owner. 
For two years he carried on these meetings, working all 
day, as we learn from his letters, teaching and preaching 
after working hours; and all who lived in or passed through 
Ephesus had a chance to hear the Gospel. 

Probably a good number of the churches we read of 
later were founded during these years by those who heard 
Paul at Ephesus. During his stay here he wrote the two 
letters to the church at Corinth which are left to us. 
They are very interesting to read in this connection. 

Some verses we should remember are these: 

i Cor. 3:16, 17. Know ye not that ye are a temple of 
God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any 
man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God destroy; 
for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye. 

1 Cor. 6:19, 20. Or know ye not that your body is a 
temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have 
from God? and ye are not your own; for ye were bought 
with a price: glorify God therefore in your body. 

1 Cor. 8:9, 13. But take heed lest by any means this 
liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to the weak 
. . . ^ Wherefore, if meat causeth my brother to stum- 
ble, I will eat no flesh for evermore, that I cause not my 
brother to stumble. 

1 Cor. 13:4-7, 13. Love suffereth long and is kind; 
Love envieth not; Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed 
up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, 
is not provoked, taketh no account of evil; rejoiceth not 
in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth 
all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth 
all things. Love never faileth. 

But now abideth Faith, Hope, and Love, these three; 
and the greatest of them is Love. 

1 Cor. 15:20, 55-58. But now hath Christ been raised 
from the dead, the first-fruits of them that are asleep. 



The Third Missionary Journey 12 J 



O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy 
sting? The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is 
the law: but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory 
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, my beloved 
brethren, be ye stedfast, immovable, always abounding 
in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your 
labor is not in vain in the Lord. 

2 Cor. 1:3-5. Blessed be the God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all 
comfort; who comfor.teth us in all our affliction, that we 
may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction, 
through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted 
of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound unto us, 
even so our comfort also aboundeth through Christ. 

2 Cor. 8:9. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He 
became poor, that you through His poverty might become 
rich. 

2 Cor. 9:7. Let each man do according as he hath 
purposed in his heart; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for 
God loveth a cheerful giver. 

2 Cor. 12:9, 10. He hath said unto me, My grace is 
sufficient for thee: for My power is made perfect in weak- 
ness. Most gladly will I rather glory in my weaknesses, 
that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Wherefore 
I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, 
in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake: for when 
I am weak then am I strong. 

In Ephesus were very many people who pretended to 
magical power; to heal the sick and do other miracles. 
Their power was largely pretence, though it deceived 
numbers of people. But God gave Paul power to do 
special miracles; not only could he heal the sick himself, 
but even the clothes he wore when carried to the sick and 
those with evil spirits cured their sicknesses. Paul was 
so successful that many of the magic workers thought to 
use the name of Jesus as a charm to bring them luck. 




Paul P, 



The Third Missionary Journey 123 



Some brothers, sons of a man named Sceva, tried to do 
this once to a man with an evil spirit. But the man said: 
"Jesus I know, and Paul I know: but who are you?" and 
then attacked them and drove them away wounded. 

When this story became known all were afraid and felt 
that the name of Jesus was even more powerful than they 
had supposed. Quite a number of those who had done 
these sorts of things before really began to believe in 
Jesus as their Saviour,' and feeling that their " magic" 
was wrong they brought the books which told about it 
and all their charms, and burned them. They might 
have sold them for a sum of money worth then as much as 
from $50,000 to $100,000 is now." But they were not 
willing to feel that they were helping others do wrong, so 
they burned the books instead. 

When Paul had been in Ephesus about two years and 
six months he decided to go through Macedonia and 
Greece, and then to Jerusalem; after which he wanted 
greatly to go to Rome, where a few disciples had gathered. 
So he sent two of his friends, Timothy and a man named 
Erastus, ahead to let the Christians know that he was 
coming. Meantime he stayed in Asia, part of the time 
probably in Ephesus and part in other smaller cities and 
towns. 

The Riot of the Silversmiths 

There was in Ephesus a great temple which was so 
magnificent that it was called one of the "seven wonders 
of the world." The temple was built in honor of the 
goddess Diana. This was not the goddess we know of by 
that name but another, worshiped in Asia, as the one we 
know about was a Roman goddess. There was a number 



124 



Heralds of the King 



of men whose business it was to make small copies of this 
temple and of the goddess in silver for the people to carry 
away and keep in their houses, so that they could worship 
there. The chief of these men was named Demetrius. 

So many of these things were made that the business 
brought in a great amount of money, and Demetrius saw 
that if Paul had his way much of this money would be lost, 
because the worshipers of Diana would become so few 
that they would have little sale for the images. So he 




Coin of Ephesus Showing Temple and Image of Diana 

called together not only these workers but all who made 
their living by selling things for the idol-worship, and said 
to them: " Friends, you know that by this business we get 
our money. Now you see and hear that this Paul is per- 
suading people not only in Ephesus but all through Asia 
that gods made with hands are no gods. So that there is 
great danger not only that our business will be injured 
but even our great temple will become of no account. " 

That was enough for such excitable people, and they 
began to shout: " Great is Diana of the Ephesians." 
There were so many of them and they were so excited that 
the disturbance spread all through the city. A large 
crowd rushed into the great theater, which would hold 
about 56,000 people, as history tells us. On the way the 



The Third Missionary Journey 



125 



mob apparently went to the house of Aquila where Paul 
lived, intending to seize him. Either because he was 
absent or because he was too well defended, they failed 
in that, but they took two of his companions with them 
into the theater. Paul wanted to go himself to the theater, 
and speak to the people, but the Christians would not 
allow it, and some of his friends among the "Asiarchs," 




Front and Side Viezv of a Shrine 



who were city officials, sent messages to him, begging him 
not to expose himself. 

Meantime the mob was making a tremendous racket, 
more than half not having any idea why they were there. 
The Jews were afraid that they would be confused with 
the Christians in the minds of the mob and come to harm; 
for they too were opposed to the worship of idols, as all 
knew. So one of them, Alexander, tried to speak to the 
crowd. But so soon as they saw that he was a Jew the 



126 



Heralds of the King 



cry " Great is Diana of the Ephesians" was started, and 
soon spread through the entire mass, and for two hours 
steadily nothing could be heard but these words. 

At last the most powerful man among the rulers of 
Ephesus, the " Secretary" or " Recorder," through whom 
they held their communications with their mistress the 
city of Rome, managed in some way to quiet the people 
enough to be heard. Then he said: "Men of Ephesus 




Theatre at Ephesus 



who does not know that Ephesus possesses the great temple 
of Diana, the goddess which came down from Jupiter, the 
king of the gods? Since no one can deny this you ought 
to be quiet and not act rashly. For you have brought 
here these men who have neither robbed the temple nor 
spoken against our goddess. 

"If Demetrius and the others have a real complaint 
against any one there are courts and judges whose business 
it is to attend to these things. Let them go to work in 



The Third Missionary Journey 127 



the regular way; and if you have anything to say about 
any public matters there is a regular assembly in which 
to settle it. But really there is danger of being accused 
by the Roman government on account of this riot, because 
there is no cause for it, and what can we give for a good 
reason to them?" Then he dismissed the crowd, which 
was at last quiet. 

A Visit to the Christians in Greece 

Not long after the riot at Ephesus Paul left the city 
and carried out his plan of going to Macedonia and Greece 
and visiting the different churches there. In Greece he 
spent three months, very likely the most of it in Corinth, 
as many questions had come up during his absence that 
needed to be settled. 

During this visit he wrote the letter to the church at 
Rome, which he had long wished to visit. It would be 
well to read it all now. Some of the most helpful verses 
to learn are these: 

Rom. 5. The whole chapter is so fine that it is hard 
to pick out the best verses. Perhaps we may take: 

Ver. 1. Being therefore justified by faith, we have 
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Vers. 7, 8. For scarcely for a righteous man will one 
die: for peradventure for the good man some one would 
even dare to die. But God commendeth His own love 
toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died 
for us. 

Rom. 6:23. For the wages of sin is death; but the free 
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Rom. 8, is another chapter that we ought to learn as a 
whole. Perhaps the best verses are: 

Vers. 1, 2. There is therefore now no condemnation 
of them that are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the 



128 



Heralds of the King 



Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of 
sin and of death. 

Vers. 14, 16, 17. For as many as are led by the Spirit 
of God, these are sons of God . . . The Spirit Him- 
self beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children 
of God: and if children, then heirs: heirs of God, and joint- 
heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we 
may be also glorified with Him. 

Vers. 28, 31, 32. And we know that to them that love 
God all things work together for good, even to those that 
are called according to His purpose . . . What then 
shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is 
against us? He that spared not His own Son, but deliv- 
ered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him 
freely give us all things? 

Vers. 35, 37-39. ^Who^ shall separate us from the love 
of Christ? Shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, 
or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . „ Nay, 
in all these things we are more than conquerors through 
Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither 
death, ror life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things 
present, m_r things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor 
depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us 
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. 

Rom. 12:20, 21. If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if 
he thirst give him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap 
coals of fire upon his head. Be not overcome of evil, but 
overcome evil with good. 

But as usual the Jews were jealous and they made a 
plot against him so that at the end of his visit he decided 
to go back to Syria by land, instead of by ship, where, if 
his enemies were on board, he would be in more danger. 
So quite a number of friends went with Paul to Philippi, 
the city where Paul and Silas had sung at midnight in the 
prison several years before. Timothy is the only one of 
these men we have heard of before. The rest were: 
Sopater, from the church in Berea, Aristarchus and Se- 



The Third Missionary Journey 129 



cundus from Thessalonica, and Gaius from Derbe. We 
learn from Paul's letters that they were a sort of com- 
mittee sent to carry contributions from Greece to the poor 
of Jerusalem. Tychicus and Trophimus who belonged 
in Asia Minor, met him on the way. at Troas in Asia, near 
the Hellespont. 

Luke uses the words "we sailed" in this account, so it 
it most probable that he joined Paul at Philippi. You 
remember Paul left him there on his other visit to the city. 

An Accident and its Results 

At Philippi the friends took a ship for Troas. a trip 
which took them five days, though even in those days it 
should have taken only two or three. Here they waited 
seven days for another ship, and no doubt held many 
meetings. The last meeting was on Saturday evening, the 
beginning of the first day of the week by Jewish reckoning, 
which made every day begin at sunset. Many of our 
grandfathers here in America did the same. — began the 
Sabbath at sunset on Saturday and considered the holy 
day at an end when the sun went down on Sunday. Some 
think, however, that Luke was talking in the Greek 
manner, and that it was Sunday night when the meeting 
was held. However, it makes little, difference, if any, to us. 

The service was the celebration of the Lord's Supper, 
and was probably held in the evening so that slaves and 
workmen might be able to attend. With this celebration 
there was also a preaching service. As it was the last 
time Paul was to speak to them on this journey, (and in 
fact it was really the last visit he ever made to the city), 
he had much to say, and he talked until after midnight. 
The room was well lighted with the smoky oil lamps in 



130 



Heralds of the King 



use then, and it is very likely that with the crowd of people 
and these smoky lamps the room grew very close. 

In the window, which in such places reached to the 
floor and was filled with lattice work instead of glass as 
now, sat a young man or perhaps a boy, named Eutychus, 
who became very tired and sleepy, and at last fell through 
the window to the ground beneath. The room was in the 




An Eastern House 



third story of the house and when he was taken up he was 
either dead, or so nearly so as to make it impossible for 
him to live. But Paul went down, put his arms around 
him, and restored his life to him. Then going back to the 
upper room the Lord's Supper was celebrated and at the 
beginning of the new day Paul left for his|ship. JHis 
companions had left before and taking the ship at Troas 



The Third Missionary Journey 131 

met Paul a little further down the coast, at Assos, where 
for some reason he went on foot. 

A Meeting with the Men of Ephesus 

From Assos the ship sailed along the coast of Asia 
Minor, stopping every night at some port, often one 
celebrated in Grecian history. At Miletus, Paul met many 
of the principal men of the church at Ephesus, to whom he 
sent word that he was there. When they came he spoke 




Ancient Lamps 



to them of his work among them. "You know yourselves 
what my way of living was all the time I was in Ephesus, 
serving God in humility, and with many trials from the 
plots of the Jews. How I never shrank from teaching you 
all you ought to know, both in public halls and in your own 
homes; talking to Jews and Greeks alike of repentance and 
faith in our Lord Jesus. Now I am going to Jerusalem 
from a very strong sense of duty, not knowing what may 
happen to me, save that the Spirit of God has told me that 
in every city I shall have sorrow and persecution. But 
I care not even for my life if I may only do the work that 



132 



Heralds of the King 



is given to me by the Lord, in preaching and teaching the 
Gospel. Now I know that we shall never see each other 
again in this world, and I want you to bear witness that 
I never hesitated to speak to you all that God revealed to 
me concerning our Saviour Jesus Christ. See to your- 
selves, and to all the church over which the Holy Spirit 
has given you the care, as shepherds, that you care for 
them as for those whom Christ purchased by the shedding 
of His own blood. 




Men at Prayer 

"I know that after I am gone wolves shall come upon 
you and injure the flock, and some of your own selves 
shall speak wrong things and draw away disciples. So 
watch carefully, remembering my faithful work among 
you for three years. And now I commit you to the care 
of God Who is able to make you strong and holy. I never 
desired any other man's gold or silver. I myself earned 



The Third Missionary Journey 133 



all necessary things for myself and those who were with 
me, setting you an example to help the weak and to re- 
member that the Lord Jesus Himself said: £ It is more 
blessed to give than to receive.'" 

Then he knelt and prayed with them all. They were 
very sad, even weeping greatly, and kissed Paul in the 
manner of these Eastern people. They were sorry to 
bid him goodbye, and especially sad because he had said 
they would never see his face again. Then they went 
with him to the ship. 

The Voyage to Syria 

The journey which brought them at last to Tyre, an 
important seaport far north in Palestine, took about a 
week, the ship stopping every night in some convenient 
port. At Tyre they found a group of disciples, so Paul 
remained there a week before starting south to Jerusalem. 
They too told Paul by the revelation of the Holy Spirit 
that he was going into danger in going to Jerusalem. But 
Paul felt it his duty to go; he had the money to carry to 
the church there, from the churches he had founded in 
Asia and Greece; and also, as a good Jew, he was very 
anxious to obey the law and attend the feast which was 
approaching. 

So nothing could keep him, and he found a ship sailing 
south to a city called Ptolemais, near Mt. Carmel, near 
the border of Samaria. The Christians of Tyre. men. 
women, and even children, went with Paul to his ship, 
and knelt for a farewell prayer on the beach. We have 
seen how stern Paul could be at times when he thought 
it best. Does not the presence of the children here show 
his loving side as well? and also the fact that all loved him 



134 



Heralds of the King 



well? All were sorrowful that danger was coming to 
their loved teacher. 

At Ptolemais he stayed one day with the Christians, 
and on the next morning the little company of Christians 
set out on foot for the south. 




Modern Tyre 



The Journey to Jerusalem 

Reaching Caesarea on the way they found Philip, of 
whom we have heard before. He was the man who 
preached in Samaria first, and who later convinced the 
Treasurer of Queen Candace that Jesus was the Saviour 
of the world. They remained with Philip for some time, 
perhaps a week or ten days. Philip had four unmarried 
daughters (an unusual thing in that age) who all "pro- 
phesied" as they call it. This does not mean tell future 
events alone, for the word was used when our Bible was 



The Third Missionary Journey 



135 



translated to mean to bring any message from God, or 
for ordinary preaching. A long essay was written at 
that time with the title "On the Liberty of Prophesying," 
which argued for the right of all ministers to preach as 
they thought right, with no idea whatever of telling the 
future. 

While Paul was at Caesarea a man named Agabu came 
there from Judea. He had some power of telling the 
future, for it was he who had foretold the famine, during 
one of Paul's other visits to the city of Antioch. He also 
had had a chance to know the feelings of the Jews against 
Paul, and by a vivid illustration he showed how Paul 
would be bound "hand and foot by the Jews and delivered 
to the Gentiles." Agabus' reputation as a prophet was so 
great that not only the people of Caesarea but Paul's 
traveling companions even, begged him with tears not to 
go to Jerusalem. Paul answered at last: "Why are you 




The Temple Restored 



156 Heralds of the King 

weeping and breaking my heart? I am willing not only 
to be bound but to die at Jerusalem for the name of the 
Lord Jesus. " 

Finding he would not be persuaded they yielded, 
saying " God's will be done." So after the short visit 
Paul started again on his journey. 

It was just Pentecost time, and Paul was very anxious 
to keep the feast at Jerusalem, and for that reason had 
hastened away from Asia Minor. Naturally a number 
of people from Caesarea would be- going to the feast and 
they all made one company, one of them being a man 
named Mnason. a native of Cyprus, but now living in 
Jerusalem. With him Paul had planned to live while 
at Jerusalem. After about two days more they reached 
the city, and were warmly welcomed by the members of 
the Jerusalem church. 



"AVOID ALL APPEARANCE OF EVIL" 



The day after their arrival a meeting of the elders of 
the church was held and Paul and the rest attended it. 
After greetings he gave a careful account of all his doings 
during his absence on his missionary tour, and the great 
success he had had. They all glorified God for His great 
works. 

Then they said to Paul: "You see, brother, how many 
thousands of Jews have joined our company, and they 
are all anxious to keep all the law of Moses as fully as 
before. These have been told that you teach the Jews 
in other lands to give up their Jewish laws and customs. 
Now they will hear that you have come. So do what we 
tell you. We have four men among us who have taken a 
vow. Now you take these men and go through the 
ceremonies with them and pay their expenses, so that all 
may know that there is no truth in the stories that they 
have heard, but that you yourself keep the law strictly, 
only teaching the Gentiles as we ourselves directed 
before." 

This vow was what they called the Nazarite vow; which 
while sometimes taken for life was at other times only 
taken for a short time. The final ceremonies, which Paul 
was to go through with the men, took seven days, and 
ended with the shaving of the head, and sacrifices. 

Paul was willing to do anything which should seem wise 
in this way, so he took the men and went through the 
ceremonies with them. 



i37 



THE MOB IX THE TEMPLE 



But just before the seven days were ended, some Jews 
who had come up from Asia to the feast saw and recog- 
nized Paul. They seized him and cried out: "Men of 
Israel, help! This is the man who preached against the 
law and the temple. And he has brought Gentiles into 
the temple where none but Jews may come." 

None of these things were true. Paul never preached 
against the temple nor the law God gave His people by 
Moses; but it is very possible that these Jews might so 
have understood his teaching to the Gentiles. As to his 
bringing Gentiles into the place where it was forbidden, 
there was no truth in that either, but as they had seen him 
in the city with some of the Gentile Christians from Asia 
they thought that of course he had taken them with him 
into the temple ! 

But though it was not true those that heard it did not 
know tha . Any insult to the temple aroused their anger 
very quickly, so a crowd of angry people gathered at once, 
took Paul and dragged him out of the temple. The doors 
of the temple were at once shut, so that no one should 
enter who was forbidden. 

Paul was in great danger of being killed at once by the 
mob; but the chief officer of the band of Roman soldiers 
who were in the castle of Antonia close by the temple, 
learned of the uproar and excitement in the temple, and 
came with a number of soldiers, as was his duty, to see 
what was the matter. The people grew more quiet as 
they came, and stopped the rough treatment they were 
giving Paul. 

138 




St. Paul Rescued from the Multitude, by Dcre 



140 



Heralds of the King 



The colonel, as we should call the officer, saw at once 
that Paul was the cause of the trouble, and supposing 
he had committed some crime he bade his soldiers take 
him, and put chains on his arms to keep him safely. Then 
he turned to the people to find out what he had done. Xo 
one seemed to know exactly, so each cried something 
different. The colonel at last commanded Paul to be 
taken to the castle. When the sold lers with Paul were 
on the stairs leading up to the castle gate, the mob feared 
that he was going to be taken entirely out of their hands 
and crowded so hard against them that the soldiers were 
forced to carry Paul in their arms. 

Just as Paul was being led into the castle be turned to 
the leader of the soldiers and said: "May I speak with 
you?" In a surprised tone the colonel answered: "Can 
you speak Greek? Are you not the Egyptian who raised 
a rebellion a little while ago and led out a band of four 
thousand men devoted to murder?" Paul answered: 
"No, I am a Jew, a native of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen 
of no unimportant city. I beg you, give me leave to 
speak to the people." So he gave him leave, and Paul, 
standing at the top of the stairs where he could be both 
seen and heard, surrounded by the soldiers, began to 
speak. 



PAUL GIVES THE MESSAGE TO THE JEWS 



When they saw that he was going to speak to them 
the crowd was silent, and Paul spoke in the Hebrew 
language, known and loved by all the Jews. "Brethren 
and fathers, hear the defence which I now am making to 
you. I am a Jew born in Tarsus, but brought up in this 
city; a student of Gamaliel; taught the strictest laws of 




Modern Jerusalem 



our fathers; always anxious to do God service. I per- 
secuted the disciples of Christ to death, delivering both 
men and women to prison. The High Priest and the great 
Council can bear witness of this because they gave me 
letters to those of the Jewish faith in Damascus, so that I 

141 



142 



Heralds of the King 



might find and bring to punishment any followers of Jesus 
in that city. 

"But one noon, as I was near to Damascus, a bright 
light shone around me and I fell to the ground. A voice 
said to me: 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' 
'Who are you, Lord,' I answered. T am Jesus of Nazareth 
Whom you are persecuting.' All around me saw the light 
but did not hear what was said to me. I asked what I 
should do, and the Lord told me to go to Damascus where 
I should be told what I was to do. Since I could not see 
for the brightness of the light that had shone around me, 
I was led by the hand to Damascus. 

"While there a man named Ananias, a Jew who was 
well spoken of by all the other Jews who lived there as one 
who kept the law, came to me and said: 'Brother Saul, 
receive thy sight.' At once I was able to see him. Then 
he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to hear 
His voice and know His will and to witness to others of 
what you have seen and heard. And now be baptised and 
receive forgiveness of sins through the name of our Lord 
Jesus.' 

"Three years later, after I had returned to Jerusalem, 
I was praying in the temple, when I had a dream or vision. 
I seemed to see Jesus speaking to me and telling me to 
hasten and go out of Jerusalem because the people there 
would not listen to the message I had for them. I said: 
'Lord, they know how I persecuted the followers of Jesus, 
and even consented to the death of the first of the martyrs, 
Stephen.' But He said: 'Go from the city, for I am going 
to send you far away to preach the Gospel to the 
Gentiles.'" 

This word was a reminder of the accusation the Jews 
had brought against him, and the crowd would listen no 



Paul Gives the Message to the Jews 



H3 



further. They cried out "Kill the fellow, he is not fit to 
live," and tore their clothes and threw dust into the air. 

The colonel had Paul brought into the castle and 
ordered that he be beaten till he would tell how he had so 
raised the anger of the Jews. But as they were tying him 
up for the beating Paul quietly asked the officer who was 
in charge: "Is it lawful for you to beat a man who is a 
Roman citizen without a trial?" This frightened the 
soldier, for he knew that one of the greatest privileges of 
Roman citizens was their right to a fair trial before re- 
ceiving punishment. So he went at once and told the 
colonel that the man claimed to be a Roman citizen. 

The colonel hastened to speak to Paul about it asking 
him if he was really what he was said to have claimed to 
be. Paul said he was. "I paid a great price for my citi- 
zenship," said the colonel, and Paul answered: "But I 
was free born." That was enough; no one would dare to 
claim to be a free born Roman citizen unless he was so in 
fact, as the truth could very easily be found out, and if 
the claim was false the punishment was death. So the 
soldiers who were to have beaten him left quickly lest 
they seem to be wanting to illtreat a Roman, and even 
the Colonel was afraid of punishment for doing as much as 
he had against Paul! 



PAUL BROUGHT BEFORE THE JEWISH 
COUNCIL 



But on the next day, the colonel being very anxious to 
know just why the Jews were so bitter against Paul, sent 
a notice to the Council to meet, and then took Paul to 
the Council chamber. The members of this Council were 
the leaders of the people, and the chief of them all was the 
High Priest. It had been the highest court in the land, 
and could punish any offender who was brought before 
them, with no appeal to any higher court. But since the 
Romans had conquered their country it was only smaller 
things that could be decided,— things about their religion, 
in regard to which the Romans knew little and cared less; 
and the punishment of death could not be inflicted by 
them under any circumstances. Still its influence on 
even the Roman courts was very great. 

The day after the riot Paul stood before this great 
Council of his nation, and began his defence. "Breth- 
ren," he eaid, "I have till now lived rightly according to 
my conscience, in the sight of God." The High Priest 
at once ordered those who stood near him to strike him on 
the mouth. Paul heard the order but probably could 
not see who gave it and he said at once: "God shall strike 
you, you hypocrite, for you are here to judge me according 
to Jewish law, and begin by ordering me to be struck 
against the law." Those who stood by, shocked at his 
words, said: "Do you speak so to God's High Priest?" 
Paul answered: "I did not know, brethren, that it was the 
High Priest; for it is a part of the law that we should not 
speak evil to our rulers." 



144 




Robe of the High Priest 



I4 6 Heralds of the King 

But Paul had by this time seen that some of the mem- 
bers belonged to the party of the Pharisees, who were 
careful to keep every part of the law strictly, and others 
to the party of the Sadducees, who said there was no 
resurrection; that this life ended all. So he called out: 
"Brethren, I am a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee. 
My trial is really a question as to the hope of a Messiah 
and the resurrection from the dead." This being a sore 
point between the parties, there arose quite a discussion, 
some of the Pharisees saying that Paul had done nothing 
wrong; and very likely a spirit or an angel had spoken 
to him. But the discussion became very violent, and the 
colonel was afraid for the safety of Paul, so he sent the 
soldiers to take him and bring him back to the castle. 

That night he again saw in his sleep the Lord Jesus 
Who told him not to fear, for he had done his duty well 
in Jerusalem, and now must bear the Message to Rome. 



THE PLOT TO MURDER PAUL 



But the Jews were very angry to have Paul taken so 
entirely out of their hands and forty of them met together 
and made a vow not to eat until they had killed Paul. 
They then went to the chief priests told them their plans, 
and asked them to ask the colonel to bring Paul before 
the Council again the next day, and they would hide along 
the way and kill him as he passed. But Paul's nephew, 
the son of his sister, in some way heard of their plan, and 
going to see his uncle told him about it. 

Paul called one of the officers near by and asked him to 
take the young fellow to the colonel, as he had something 
to tell him. When the colonel saw the boy, he took him 
by the hand, led him a little way from the rest, and asked 
him what he wished to say. So the boy told him what he 
had learned. Then the colonel sent him away, bidding 
him not to let anyone know that he had seen him. 

Then he called two captains, Centurions, and told them 
to take their troops and seventy horsemen, and two 
hundred spearmen and be ready to start for Caesarea at 
nine o'clock that evening. They were to go at once and 
by night, so that the Jews in the plot might not learn that 
they were going. Then they were to provide animals, 
horses or mules perhaps, for Paul to ride. Their duty was 
to take him safely to the Governor, Felix. While the 
soldiers were getting ready the Colonel wrote a letter as 
follows : 

"Claudias Lysias [his name] to his Excellency Governor 
Felix, Greeting. This man was seized by the Jews and 
would have been killed by them if I had not come up with 

147 



148 



Heralds of the King 



the soldiers and rescued him, because I learned that he 
was a Roman citizen. As I wished to know T why they were 
so angry with him I had him taken before their Council, 
but found it was merely a question of their own laws, and 
that he had done nothing deserving of punishment by 




Roman Soldi- rs 



Roman law. So as I learned that there was a plot to kill 
him I am sending him to you at once, and shall tell his 
enemies to take their case against him to you. Fare- 
well." 

He certainly gave a false impression by his letter of his 



The Plot to Murder Paul 



149 



first rescue, since he knew nothing of his citizenship, and 
was about to have him beaten when he learned it. But 
he had served Paul well afterwards, so he was less to be 
blamed, perhaps, for looking out for his own safety. 

The party traveled all night and reached the city of 
Antipatris, about thirty miles from Caesarea. They 
were now out of danger from the Jews because they were 
outside of judea, and also out of the hilly country where 
it would be easier to attack them. So the four hundred 
soldiers returned to Jerusalem and the seventy horsemen 
went on with Paul to Caesarea. 

As soon as they entered the city they gave the Colonel's 
letter to the Governor, and presented Paul to him. He 
asked him from what province he was, as different pro- 
vinces had different rights and privileges of trial; and then 
said he would hear his case when his accusers came. In 
the meantime he was to be made as comfortable as possible 
in the palace built at Caesarea by Herod the Great. 



PAUL TRIED BEFORE THE ROMAN GOVERNOR 



After five days, the time necessary for Governor Felix 
to send a message to Jerusalem, and for the Jews to come 
to Caesarea, — the High Priest, who was named Ananias, 
and other members of the Council, with Tertullus, a 
lawyer (either a Roman or a Jew educated in Roman law), 
— Paul had his trial in Caesarea, before Felix. It was 
much the same as in our police courts, where there is no 
jury to decide the question; hence the Governor had all 
the power of decision. Paul and his accusers were brought 
together, and the lawyer as accuser was given the first 
chance to speak. 

Tertullus began with a little bit of flattery, which had 
a kernel of truth in it. " Seeing that by you we enjoy 
peace and many evils have been corrected, we accept it 
always, your Excellency, with thankfulness. But, not to 
take up too much of your time, let me tell you that we 
have found this man a plague, and one that stirs up riots 
among the Jews all over the world, and a ring-leader in 
the sect of the Nazarenes. He was just about to break 
the temple laws when we took him, and would have 
judged him according to our laws, had not Colonel Lysias 
taken him out of our hands. If you investigate you will 
learn the truth of my statements." And all the Jews 
said this was the truth. 

So Paul was asked to answer to the charge. He said 
much like this: "As I know you have been judge here for 
many years I am the more ready to make my defence 
before you, as you are familiar enough with customs here 
to know that it cannot be more than twelve days since I 

150 



Paul Tried Before the Roman Governor 



went up to Jerusalem to worship at the feast. No man 
has found me disputing in the temple, nor stirring up a 
crowd either in the synagogues or in the city. They 
cannot prove anything of which they accuse me. I will 
confess, however, that in a way which they call wrong I 
worship the God of my fathers, believing all the law. and 
the prophecies held sacred by them, and hoping, as do 
they, that God will give a resurrection both to the good and 
to the evil. 

"In this faith I am training myself so as to have a 
conscience untroubled by feelings of wrongdoing toward 
God or man. 

"After many years' absence I came to bring gifts and 
offerings to my nation; while offering these, certain Jews 
from Asia found me in the temple, not with a crowd or 
with noise. These Jews ought to be here before you if 
they saw anything to accuse me of. But let these men 
who are here say if they themselves have seen any wrong 
done by me when I stood before the Council, unless it 
was for one sentence used when I said: It is in regard to the 
resurrection of the dead that I am called in question this 
day." 

Felix, knowing something of the Christians, knew that 
Paul was probably telling the truth, but partly perhaps 
for the safety of Paul, and certainly for the sake of not 
making the Jews angry, he put off the decision; saying 
that when Colonel Lysias came to Caesarea he would 
learn more about the matter. He could not for these 
reasons let Paul go free, but he gave orders that he should 
be treated as kindly as possible, and that any of his 
friends might come to see him as he pleased. 

One reason why Felix knew something of Jewish cus- 
toms was because his wife Brasilia was a Jewess. Some 



152 



Heralds of the King 



days after the trial Felix sent for Paul to come to talk to 
his wife and himself concerning the Christian religion. 
Paul was glad of the chance, and spoke boldly of right 
living here on earth, and the judgment of all men that was 
to come, till Felix, knowing his own sins, was frightened, 
and sent him away, saying that sometime when it was 
convenient he would hear him again. 

He hoped that Paul would do as so many prisoners 
did, pay Felix money to set him free, so he often called him 
for a talk. But two years went by; Paul did not offer 
money for his release, and Felix was too much afraid of the 
Jews to set him free without. At the end of that time 
another governor, Festus, was sent to take the place of 
Felix, and Felix, still wishing to please the Jews, left Paul 
in prison. 



THE APPEAL TO CAESAR 



The new governor, Festus was a very different man 
from Felix. He was honest and wanted to do his duty. 

It was only three days after he landed at Caesarea 
that he went up to Jerusalem where he would meet the 
native officials of the people he had come to rule. The 
priests and members of the Council at once told him about 
Paul; and asked that he might be brought up to Jerusalem 
for trial. They asked this because they meant if they 
could get a chance to carry out their plan of killing him. 

But Festus said that as Paul was already in Caesarea, 
and he himself was going back there very soon, the Jews 
should themselves go to Caesarea with him. They would 
then have a trial of the case. With this they were forced 
to be satisfied; indeed, they could give no reason against 
it, save their desire to kill Paul! and that would at once 
have prejudiced the governor against their case. 

So when the governor returned to Caesarea after a 
visit of a week or ten days at Jerusalem a number of Jews 
went with him. The very day after his return he sum- 
moned Paul for his trial. The Jews accused him of many 
things, probably in the same line as the charges Tertullus 
had brought two years before. But they could prove 
nothing against him. Paul in his defence simply denied 
all the accusations: "Neither against the law of the Jews, 
or the temple, nor against Caesar have I sinned at all." 

Festus wanted to gain the favor of the Jews, for they 
were a hard people to rule at the best, and only by doing 
all that he could in their favor would they yield enough to 
his power to make his governorship a comfortable one! 

153 



1 54 



Heralds of the King 



So he asked Paul if he would like to go to Jerusalem and 
be judged there. This was really an acquittal of the 
accusation of wrong against the Roman law, for that must 
be tried at Caesarea. It left only what it was right to 
leave to the judgment of the Sanhedrin; but Festus pro- 
posed that the trial be held before himself, thus making it 
certain that he should be allowed all the privileges of a 
Roman citizen. 

But Paul knew that even with Festus present it would 
be unfair, for he had done nothing against Jewish law. 
So he said: "It is here at the Roman Court that I ought 
to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you 
can very well see from the evidence they bring. If I 
have broken the laws of Rome, and am even to be judged 
worthy of death, I shall not beg for mercy; but if I have 
not done any of the things the Jews accuse me of there is 
no justice in giving me up to them. I appeal unto Cae- 
sar." 

Every Roman citizen had the right to demand that he 
be tried before the Emperor, or in later times, because of 
the large numbers, by persons at Rome especially ap- 
pointed to hear them. This did away with at least a 
part of the danger of a trial by a judge who was either pre- . 
judiced against him or afraid to favor him. 

Festus talked the matter over with his council and 
decided to allow the appeal; and used the formal words 
which sent Paul to Rome for trial: "Thou hast appealed 
unto Caesar; unto Caesar shalt thou go." 



A ROYAL VISITOR 



Some time must pass before it would be possible to 
start on what was then a long and hard journey. In the 
meantime Festus had some visitors at Caesarea. Herod 
Agrippa II, the son of the Herod who imprisoned Peter, 
and king of a small part of Palestine under the Romans, 
came down with Berenice, his sister, to make a ceremoni- 
ous call on the new governor. These visitors were Jews 
by religion, though their character was anything but in 
keeping with the Ten Commandments! They remained 
quite a time in Caesarea, and after a number of days had 
passed Festus brought Paul's case before the king, think- 
ing that as a Jew he might help him in some way about it. 

He said: " There was a man here when J became 
governor, left a prisoner by Felix, about whom the Jews 
spoke to me while at Jerusalem, asking that I pronounce 
a sentence against him. But I told them that it was not 
the Roman custom to sentence a man to punishment 
without giving him a chance to stand face to face with his 
accusers and make his defence. So when the men came 
down to Caesarea for the purpose I made no delay, but 
the next day commanded the man to be brought before 
me. 

"But when the Jews came to accuse him they brought 
no such charges as I expected, but it was merely in regard 
to questions of their own religion and of a certain Jesus, 
who has died, whom Paul insisted was alive. I was much 
perplexed about the matter, and so asked Paul if he 
would be willing to go to Jerusalem to be judged. But 




Paul in the Curule Chair 



A Royal Visitor 



157 



he appealed to Caesar so I ordered him kept here till I 
could send him to Rome." 

Agrippa said: "I should like to hear the man myself." 

Festus answered that he should hear him the next day. 

So the next day Agrippa and Berenice and Festus, 
and a great number of officers and attendants, and im- 
portant men of the city made a gay and elegant party in 




Paul before Festus, by Hogarth 



the great assembly hall in Herod's palace. At the com- 
mand of Festus Paul was brought in. Think of the 
scene! All the gold and jewels and glitter of the great 
people — the uniforms, the gay faces and careless laughs 
of these who were great in this world — -and before them, 
in chains, a man who had been two years in prison, who 



Heralds of the King 



was, according to tradition, small and slight, — of no 
beauty nor majesty of form — a man who had often been 
sick and who never was strong. 

But Paul lives today as one of the most wonderful men 
who ever existed; and the others would be forgotten by 
all save a few historians were it not for their connection 
with Paul at this time. 

Then Festus rose and said to the whole company of 
visitors: "You see the man about whom all the Jews are 
besetting me, crying that he ought not to live any longer. 
'But I found he had done nothing deserving death; and 
when he appealed to the Emperor I determined to send 
him. But I do not know what to write to Rome about 
him. So I have arranged for this hearing to see if we 
can find something to write. For it does seem to me un- 
reasonable to send a man to Rome as a prisoner and yet 
not to make any definite charges against him!" 



PAUL GIVES THE MESSAGE BEFORE THE 
KING 



So Agrippa, as visitor and as holding nominally the 
highest rank among the company, said to Paul: "Thou 
art permitted to speak for thyself;" and Paul rose to 
make his defence. This speech is a good example of his 
power, even in the brief form in which it is preserved to 
us. "I am happy," he began, "to have the chance to 
make my defence before you, King Agrippa, in regard to 
the things of which I am accused by the Jews, especially 
because I know you are well acquainted with the customs 
and questions among the Jews. I beg you therefore to 
hear me patiently. 

"All the Jews know the sort of life I have led from my 
youth which was largely spent at Jerusalem. They all 
know, if they are willing to testify, that I was a Pharisee 
of the strictest sort. And now I am here for judgment 
because I had hope for the promise made by God to our 
fathers, a promise all our tribes who still serve God are 
looking for; and it is for this, O King, that I have been 
accused by the Jews. Why is it a thing so unbelievable 
that God should raise the dead? 

"I truly thought that it was my duty to work against 
Jesus of Nazareth; and that I did in Jerusalem, imprison- 
ing many of his followers under authority given me by the 
chief priests; and when they were put to death I gave my 
vote against them. I went to every synagogue to punish 
all believers in Jesus; trying to make them speak against 
God; and being exceedingly angry against them followed 
them even to foreign cities with my persecution. 

159 



i6o 



Heralds of the King 



"It was on one of these journeys, to Damascus, that 
I saw at midday a light from heaven brighter than the 
noonday sun, and it shone all around me. We all fell to 
the ground, and I heard a voice which said to me: 'Saul, 
Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to 
kick against the pricks." 5 

This sentence compares Saul to an unruly ox or mule, 
who is kicking against the sharp stick which people of 
those times were accustomed to use in driving them. Of 
course it only hurt them the more. It was a proverb 
common in many parts of Greece and the Roman Empire. 

"'Who art thou Lord?' said I. And he answered: C I 
am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Rise, and stand, 
for I have appeared to you for the express purpose of 
appointing you My servant and witness of all things con- 
cerning Me; what you have seen and what you will see. 
I will send you to preach to the Gentiles, to teach them the 
truth and to win them from the service of Satan to that of 
God, that they may receive the forgiveness of their sins 
and an inheritance among My faithful followers.' 

"So, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the 
heavenly vision but preached to those at Damascus first 
and at Jerusalem, throughout Judea, and also to the 
Gentiles. This is why the Jews seized me in the temple 
and tried to kill me. But God has been my help so that 
I live to this day and preach to all to whom I can, both 
small and great, saying nothing but what was said before 
by our prophets and by Moses, that the Messiah should 
suffer, and that by His death and resurrection He should 
bring light to both Jews and Gentiles." 

Just here Festus interrupted him, possibly in anger, 
certainly in surprise: "Paul, you are crazy; your much 
study has turned your brain." But Paul answered: 



Paul Gives the Message Before the King 161 



"No, I am not crazy, most noble Festus. I am speaking 
words of sober truth. For the King knows about these 
things of which I am speaking so freely; none of them have 
been done in a corner. King i^grippa, do you believe the 
words of the prophets? I know that you believe them." 
Agrippa, as a Jew, must believe them, even though he 
did not live by their teaching. 

The words of Agrippa in answer are not fully under- 
stood by any scholar. The old version of our Bibles says: 
"Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian," which 
has been supposed to mean that Agrippa was almost 
ready to turn to Christ. Our hymn "Almost Persuaded" 
is based on this idea. Many still thirfk this is the right 
meaning of the words. But very many, and among them 
the translators of our Revised Version, think the words 
ironical; something like " You seem to think you can make 
me a Christian very easily!" 

But whatever the meaning Agrippa never became, nor 
really wanted to become, a Christian. He was too bad a 
man, morally, to become one except by a true conversion, 
against which he would fight hard. He had too much to 
lose of this world's power and riches to be willing to become 
one of this despised company. Paul answered his remark: 
"I most earnestly wish that not only you but all who hear 
me here today were such as I am, — except these bonds;" 
showing his chained hands. 

This ended the meeting. The king gave the signal for 
leaving, and all the officers went into another room where 
they talked of Paul, and all agreed that he had done noth- 
ing deserving of either death or imprisonment. Agrippa 



162 



Heralds of the King 



even said to Festus that Paul might have been set free if 
he had not appealed to Caesar. As he had done so, how- 
ever, Festus must send him to Rome, — -and that was a 
place which Paul had very often wished to visit! 




A Galley 



PAUL'S VOYAGE TO ROME 



Caesarea to Myra 

So about 59 or 60 A. D., about twenty-nine or thirty 
years after the death of Christ, in August, a party of 
travelers left Caesarea in a ship which was going to some 
port of the coast of Asia Minor, in which place they might 
expect to find other ships for the rest of their voyage. 
This party consisted of fi) a small band of soldiers under 
the command of a centurion ( captain) named Julius, who 
by his name would seem to have belonged to a powerful 
family. (2) A small band of prisoners who were to be 
taken safely to Rome; and (3) two friends of one of the 
prisoners, who was no less a man than Paul. Luke must 
have been one of the party, as he uses the word "we" 
again; and a man named Aristarchus, belonging in Thessa- 
lonica, was the other friend. 

They left Caesarea and went to Sidon, where Paul had 
liberty to go and see his friends among the Christians. 
The journey led north of Cyprus to Myra, a city of Lycia. 
in the southern part of Asia Minor. There the ship 
stopped, or else it was not going in a convenient direction 
for travelers to Rome. This part of the voyage had taken 
probably about fifteen days. 

Myra to Crete 

At Myra the captain found a ship which was to sail to 
Italy, and he engaged passage on it for his party. The 
wind was not very favorable, so they made a slow voyage 
to the north of Crete, and finally reached a port on that 

163 



164 



Heralds of the King 



island called Fair Havens. The trip had been very long 
already, and they waited still longer for a favorable wind. 
There were no steamboats in those days, and even our 
present knowledge of sailing vessels is far in advance of 
theirs. They could do little unless the wind blew fair 
in the right direction. They often had but one large sail, 
and the steering was done not by a rudder but by two 
large oars, one on each side of the ship! 

Time passed and it was late in September or early in 
October and no favorable wind yet. Sailing was danger- 
ous in those seas with those boats after that time in the 
year, and no one made voyages in the winter because of 
the danger. Paul knew from experience and from the 
teaching of God that if the voyage was continued the 
ship and very likely their lives would be in the greatest 
danger. He therefore advised Julius and the others not 
to start out but to spend the winter in Fair Havens. 

But the pilot and the owner of the ship felt that the 
place was a poor one to winter in, and if they started when 
a fair wind blew it would be perfectly safe to try to reach 
another, better, harbor on the same island. These were 
naturally considered better judges than Paul, so the 
greater part advised them to try to get to Phoenix, a 
larger and better harbor about forty miles away. 

The Storm 

Several days later there was a pleasant south breeze, 
which seemed to them to be just what they wanted, and 
they started for Phoenix, sailing close along the shore. 
But not long after starting the wind changed to a tempest 
from the northeast, and as there was no other way the 
seamen had to let the boat be driven where it might be. 

They managed to go to the south of the little island of 



Paul's Voyage to Rome 



Cauda or Clauda, not far from Crete, and being a little 
protected from the wind there, they managed to pull in 
the little boat which in calm weather was towed after the 
larger one. Doesn't this give us an idea of how small the 
larger boat must have been compared with our regular 
passenger-carrying boats? They hoisted it on board. 
The next thing they did was to pass ropes or chains com- 
pletely around the vessel, to relieve some of the strain, for 
the strain from the single mast with the one huge sail was 
tremendous in such a wind. 

They were much afraid they would be driven into some 
terrible quicksands, or shoals, — the Syrtis Major, — on the 
coast of Africa. They were still far away, but the wind 
was driving them directly toward them. So they lowered 
the rigging, leaving only just enough to keep the ship's 
head to the wind, and let the ship drive. But since the 
great waves came dashing over the boat as if they would 
sink it, the next day the sailors threw overboard much of 
the cargo which was least valuable, or more easily gotten 
hold of. The third day all set to work, passengers and all, 
to throw out of the boat everything in the way of furniture 
and baggage which could be spared. 

All were frightened, and the ship was still overloaded 
for such weather. Since they had in those days no com- 
pass, they were dependent on sun and stars as guides 
while out of sight of land. Now for many days no sun 
nor stars could be seen for the thick clouds, and the gale 
raged as hard as ever. All gave up hope, and expected 
to be cast ashore, or sunk by the huge waves. They did 
not care to eat; no cooking could be done; and much of the 
provisions had been spoiled by the waves. 

Then Paul stood up where all could see him, and said: 
6 'Gentlemen, you should have taken my advice and not 



Heralds of the King 



left Fair Havens and come into this danger. But now 
keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life, — 
only the loss of the ship! For this past night I had a 
vision of an angel of my God standing by me; who said: 
Tear not, Paul, thou must stand before Caesar; and, in 
answer to thy prayer God will grant the lives of all who 
sail with thee.' So keep up your spirits. I believe my 
God, that He will do just as He has said. But we shall be 
cast ashore on some island." 




Anchor and Tackle 



For fourteen nights and days they tossed with this 
terrible gale. Up and down, in different directions, very 
likely, the ship had been driven till none had any idea 
where they were. But about midnight on the fourteenth 
night, the sound of breakers or some line of foam seen 
amidst the darkness, told the sailors that land was near 
by. They sounded to see the depth of the water— twenty 
fathoms (about one hundred and twenty feet); a little 
later, trying again — fifteen fathoms (about ninety feet) 
It was shoaling fast, and fearing lest they dash too strongly 



PauVs V oyage to Rome 



i6 7 



against the rocks they threw out four anchors from the 
stern to hold the ship's bow to the shore, and begged their 
gods for day. 

The sailors, officers and crew, knew that only a few 
could get into the one small boat, and were anxious to 
save their own lives. So pretending that some anchors 
should be cast in another direction they lowered the boat, 
intending to take it and escape, leaving the passengers to 
their fate. But Paul learned of the move and told Cap- 
tain Julius that unless the sailors remained on board all 
would be lost. So the soldiers cut the ropes holding the 
boat and she fell away into the sea. 

Through the night all were anxiously watching and 
wondering whether the day would come before the boat 
was driven ashore. At dawn Paul begged all to take food, 
saying that it had been fourteen days since they had eaten 
a regular meal, and it was necessary to keep up their 
strength for what was coming; "for, " he said, "there 
shall not a hair fall from the head of any of you. " This 
was a common proverb meaning that they would not 
suffer the least harm. Then he set the example himself. 
He took some food, gave thanks to God, and began to eat. 
All felt in better spirits from his words, and example, and 
themselves took food. 

When the whole number of those on board, about two 
hundred and seventy-six in all, had eaten a full meal, they 
did the last they could to lighten the ship by throwing 
out the rest of the cargo, which was grain. 

The Wreck 

Day came at last and they found themselves in a place 
which no one knew. But on looking closely they saw a 
little bay with a sandy beach upon which they thought 



i68 



Heralds of the King 



they could run the ship ashore so that they might not be 
too far from the land to reach it safely. They cast off 
the anchors, therefore, cutting the ropes and leaving them 
where they were, and untied the ropes by which the 
steering oars had been fastened safely out of the way. 

They ran aground sooner than they intended, how- 
ever, and in a place where they could not keep the ship 
from breaking to pieces at once from the violence of the 
waves. 

The soldiers advised the killing of the prisoners, for if 
they should swim out and escape the soldiers would be 
liable to the punishment of death. But Julius, their 
captain, wanted very greatly to save Paul, who being 
one of the prisoners would be killed among the rest. So 
he refused the wish of his soldiers, and commanded that 
all who knew how to swim should at once jump over- 
board and swim ashore. After that the rest escaped safe 
to land by the help of planks or broken pieces of the ship 
which the wind was driving ashore. 

Not till they were safe on the land did they know where 
they were. It was the island Melita, now called Malta, 
and by the very good description Luke has given of the 
way in which their boat drifted, and especially that of the 
bay where they landed, men can today point out the very 
spot where the shipwreck occurred. 

Paul and the "Deadly Snake 

The inhabitants of Malta were a people speaking the 
language of Phoenicia instead of Greek and so called 
" foreign" (or literally " barbarian 5 ') by all Greeks. They 
were very kind to the shipwrecked men, and kindled a 
fire, the most necessary thing, and yet the most difficult 
thing for men who were obliged to swim ashore for their 




St. Paul Shipwrecked, by Dore 



Paul's Voyage to Rome 



lives. There were no matches, and all other means of 
kindling fires were at least as likely to be injured by 
wetting as would matches. 

Paul was not above helping in even little ways, so he 
busied himself in gathering brushwood for the fire. A 
snake, — a very poisonous kind called a viper, — which had 
been lying amidst the sticks was roused from its sleep by 
the heat of the fire, and fastened on Paul's hand. The 




A Viper 



Maltese saw this, and probably knowing that he was a 
prisoner, said to each other: "This man is no doubt a 
murderer; he has escaped from the sea, but Dike [the 
goddess of justice] will not allow him to live." 

But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and felt no 
harm. The Maltese expected the poison to have its 
effect, even if later than usual, and watched him to see if 
his hand -would not swell, or if he would not fall dead 



PauVs Voyage to Rome 



171 



suddenly. But when they had watched him for a long 
while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their 
minds and said that he was a god. They knew the deadly 
nature of the viper, and that nothing but divine power 
could have saved Paul's life. 




The Winter at Malta 

Publius, the u chief man" of the island, probably the 
governor, had estates in that part of the country. These 
he placed at the disposal of all the shipwrecked men for 
three days. At the end of that time the men themselves 
and the people of the island had probably made some 
shelters in which they could pass the winter. The father 



172 



Heralds of the King 



of Publius was very sick with a sort of malarial fever, with 
dysentery, a common sickness there even now. Paul 
went in and prayed with him, and laying his hands on him 
healed him. This was the signal for a host of others to 
come with their troubles to this, wonderful man; and all 
who came were cured. 

Nothing, from this time, was too good for Paul and his 
friends. For three months, till early in February, when 
it was again considered safe to start, they were kindly 
cared for, and when at last they left the island, the people 
sent on board with them all things that were necessary 
for them during the voyage. 

The Arrival at Rome 

A ship belonging in Alexandria, in Africa, had spent 
the winter in the island, and started, as soon as it was safe 
traveling, for Italy. The whole company took passage 
on this ship. All ships then had on their bows a carved 
figure representing its name, often that of the god to 
whose care they were entrusted. This ship had the 
figures of Castor and Pollux, twin gods who were con- 
sidered the guardian deities of sailors. 

Spending three days at Syracuse in Sicily, about eighty 
or one hundred miles from Malta, they sailed around 
between Sicily and the main land, and with a favorable 
breeze made quick time to Puteoli, the modern Pozzuoli, 
near Naples. There the party landed, and prepared for 
their land journey of one hundred and forty miles to 
Rome. 

There were Christians here at Puteoli, who begged 
that Paul and his friends might stay with them for seven 
days. Doubtless Julius was glad of the chance to rest 
and get further orders from Rome as to the prisoners, for 



Paul's Voyage to Rome 



173 



it had been six months since he had left Caesarea, and 
there might be changes which would affect his care of 
them. Paul, also, without doubt, sent word to the 
Roman Christians of his arrival in Italy. 

Nothing is F ' said of the trip north, but when they 
reachedjthe Market of Appius, about forty miles from 




An Ancient Two-Masted Ship 

Rome, they were met by a number of the Christians, who 
had come to welcome them, and thirteen miles farther, 
at the Three Taverns, still others met them. Paul was 
much cheered at this meeting, for his long strain and hard 
work had apparently left him in rather low spirits. 

When the party reached Rome Paul was allowed to 
live, not in the prison, but in a place by himself, with a 
single soldier, whose duty it was to guard him. 



THE MESSAGE GIVEN TO THE JEWS AT ROME 

Three days after his arrival, during which time he 
doubtless rested and saw the Christians of Rome, he sent 
for the chief men among the Jews in the city. When they 
were all together he said: "Brethren, I did nothing against 



Ilk Iti 



Appian Way Restored 



our people, nor the customs of our fathers, yet the leaders 
in Jerusalem gave me into the hands of the Romans, who 
would have set me at liberty after an examination, because 
they felt that I was innocent of blame. But the Jews 
spoke so against it that I was compelled to appeal to 

i74 



The Message Given to the Jews at Rome 



Caesar; not as an enemy of my people, nor to make 
trouble, but because there was no other way. I have 
begged you to come and see me, because it is on account 
of the Messiah, the hope of Israel, that I am bound with 
this chain." 




Appian Way Today 

The Jews said they had not received any definite 
letters of accusation against Paul, nor had any Jews who 
had come to Jerusalem from Palestine spoken any special 
harm of him. "But, " they added, "we would like to 
hear what your beliefs are, for we know that the Christians 
are everywhere spoken against." 

So on a day that they agreed upon, they came to his 
lodgings in great numbers, and from morning till night 
Paul preached to them of Jesus, — proving his points from 



176 



Heralds of the King 



their own Scriptures. Some believed, and some disbe- 
lieved. So Paul said: "The Holy Spirit well said through 
Isaiah to our fathers: 



'Hearing ye shall hear and not understand; 

And seeing ye shall see and not perceive; 

For the heart of this people is grown stupid, 

And their ears are dull of hearing, 

And their eyes have they closed — 

Lest they should see with their eyes, 

And hear with their ears, 

And understand with their heart, 

And should turn again to Me, 

And I should heal them of their sins.' 

Know therefore that this salvation of God will be offered 
to the Gentiles and they will accept it." After these 
words of Paul the Jews left him. 




Room in Centurion's House in Which Paul was Imprisoned 



PAUL AT ROME 



For two years Paul lived in a house of his own at Rome, 
though of course under the care of a soldier, for safety, for 
he was nominally a prisoner. There was no hindrance to 
his seeing all who wished to visit him. though he could not 
go around himself. He preached and taught boldly, no 
one forbidding him. 




A Prisoner Chained to Two Soldiers 



During these two years he wrote four more letters; 
to the people of Ephesus. of Colosse. a city not far from 
Ephesus, of Philippi, where he and Silas had been in 
prison; and to a man named Philemon. 

This last was to ask his forgiveness for a slave who had 
run away to Rome with some of his master's money. At 
Rome he had become a Christian, and was sorry for what 
he had done. Yet he did not quite dare to go back, as 
the punishment of such crimes among slaves was very 
severe. But Philemon and his wife were both members 
of the Christian church, and Paul wrote this letter, asking 

i77 



178 



Heralds of the King 



that they receive their slave as a Christian brother, who 
was sorry for his faults, and would do his best to atone for 
them; and he asked it as a personal favor to himself. It 
would be interesting to read all of these letters at this point 
of the history. 

Some of the best parts to learn are these: 

Eph. 2:4-9. God, being rich in mercy, for His great 
love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead 
through our trespasses [sins] made us alive together with 
Christ (by grace have ye been saved); and raised us up 
with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus: that 
in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches 
of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus: for by 
grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of 
yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man 
should glory. 

Eph. 3 :14-I9. For this cause I bow my knees unto the 
Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth 
is named, that He would grant you, according to the 
riches of His glory, that ye may be strengthened with 
power through His spirit in the inward man; that Christ 
may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that 
ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strong to 
apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and 
length and height and depth, and to know the love of 
Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled 
unto all the fulness of God. 

Eph. 3:20, 21. Now unto Him Who is able to do ex- 
ceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, ac- 
cording to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be the 
glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations 
for ever and ever. Amen. 

Eph. 6:10-17. Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in 
the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of 
God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the 
devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, 
but against the principalities, against the powers, against 



Paul at Rome 



179 



the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual 
hosts of wickedness in high places. 

Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye 
may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done 
all, to stand. 

Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, 
and^ having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and 
having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of 
peace; withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye 
shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. 
And take _ the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the 
Spirit, which is the Word of God. 




A Roman S oldie? in Full Armor 

To understand these verses we must remember that 
in those times, and even very much later, those who went 
to war wore armor of leather or steel, or even of precious 
metals. This armor was of great use as a protection until 



i8o 



Heralds of the King 



they learned enough about guns and cannon to fire shot 
that would go right through the best armor a man could 
wear. We read a great deal about armor in stories of 
the times of the Middle Ages, when every strong man went 
to war as a matter of course. The pictures show the sort 
of armor the Roman soldiers wore in the time of Paul; 
and therefore the sort of armor which was familiar to the 
people to whom Paul was writing. 

Some one in writing about this chapter of Ephesians 
has told us to notice two things about this armor. First: 
there is nothing for the back; Christians must never turn 
their back to the foe. Second: there is only one weapon 
for our use against the enemy, — the Word of God. 

One more thing you must notice: all the Christian's 
armor and weapons are spiritual, not the sort people could 
use in bodily warfare. The Christian's fight is not against 
other men, but against bad thoughts, bad feelings, bad 
desires; and temptations to do wrong. We cannot fight 
against these with metal armor, Study the verses to see 
what it is that protects us against these things. 

Phil. 2:5-11: Have this mind in you which was also 
in Christ Jesus: Who, existing in the form of God, counted 
not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped 
but emptied Himself [that is, of all power and glory] 
taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of 
men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled 
Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the 
death of the cross. 

Wherefore also God highly exalted Him, and gave unto 
Him the name which is above every name; that in the 
name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven 
and things on earth and things under the earth, and that 
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to 
the glory of God the Father. 

Phil. 3:13, 14: One thing I do, forgetting the things 



Paul at Rome 



181 



which are behind, and stretching forward to the things 
which are before, I press on toward the goal for the prize 
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 

Phil. 4:6-8: In nothing be anxious; but in everything 
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your 
requests be made known unto God. And the peace of 
God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your 
hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus. 

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatso- 
ever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, 
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of 
good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any 
praise, think on these things. 

Col. 3:1-4: If then ye were raised together with Christ, 
seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on 
the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that 
are above, not on the things that are upon the earth. For 
ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When 
Christ, Who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye 
also with Him be manifested in glory. 

Col. 3:15-17: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, 
to the which also ye were called in one body; and be ye 
thankful. 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; . . . 
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 

And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the 
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father 
through Him. 



PAUL'S LATER LIFE, AND DEATH 



At this point Luke's account ends. The simplest 
reason for this is that he knew no more, but wrote at that 
time. Later letters written by Paul indicate that he was 
brought to trial at last, acquitted, and set free. 

For several years, probably, he worked in various 
places, some think even going into Spain. During this 
time he wrote the First Letter to Timothy, and that to 
Titus. These (with Second Timothy) are called "The 
Pastoral Epistles*' because Paul wrote them to those who 
were helping to carry the Message, and in them gave 
many suggestions as to what they should do. Yet very 
much in them is helpful for even children to read. 

Some of the best verses to learn are: 

i Tim. 1:15: Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all 
acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
sinners. 

1 Tim. 6:6-12: Godliness with contentment is great 
gain: for we brought nothing into the world, for neither 
can we carry anything out; but having food and covering 
we shall be therewith content. 

But they that are minded to be rich fall into a tempta- 
tion and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such 
as drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love 
of money is a root of all kinds of evil: which some reaching 
after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced 
themselves through with many sorrows. 

But thou. O man. of God. flee these things: and follow 
after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meek- 
ness. 

Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life 
eternal, whereunto thou wast called, and didst confess 
the good confession in the sight of many witnesses. 

182 



Paul's Later Life, and Death 



At last, however, Paul was again arrested and taken 
to Rome. Tradition only, tells us what followed. The 
story is that he was imprisoned is what is now shown to 
travelers in Rome as the Mamertine Prison, near the 
Roman Forum; and that not long after he was put to 
death by Nero at a place outside the walls of Rome which 
is still shown to travelers as the place of his death, the 
"Abbey of the Three Fountains. " He is also said to 
have been buried where the church of "St. Paul's without 
the Walls" stands. 




Mamertine Prison, Rome 



The Second Letter to Timothy being considered by 
the greater part of the scholars to be the last written by 
Paul, and to have been written during this last imprison- 
ment, may be regarded as being the last words of this 
great Apostle. If you remember this it will be especially 



Paul's Later Life, and Death 



185 



interesting to read some of the last counsels he gave to 
this dear friend Timothy. 

2 Timothy 1: 7, 10, 12 (parts): For God gave us not a 
spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline. 
. . . Our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death, 
and brought life and immortality to light through the 
Gospel . . . For I know Him Whom I have believed, 
and I am persuaded that He is able to guard that which 
I have committed unto Him against that day. 

2 Timothy 2:1, 15, 19: Thou, therefore, my child, be 
strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus . . . 
Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, 
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling 
aright the word of truth . . . The firm foundation 
of God standeth, having this seal. The Lord knoweth 
them that are His: and, Let every one that nameth the 
name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness. 

And the last words in this letter to Timothy, save some 
personal words, and tender messages to friends, whom he 
should see no more, are these, which are well worth re- 
membering every day of our lives. 

/ am already being offered, and the time of my departure 
is come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the 
course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for 
me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
Judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but 
also to all them that loved His appearing. . . . The 
Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will save me 
unto His heavenly kingdom: to Whom be the glory for ever 
and ever. Amen. " 

Shall we be able to say the same as Paul ? 



SOME OTHER HERALDS OF THE KING 



For many pages we have read only about the work of 
Paul, the greatest of the Heralds of our King, Jesus Christ. 
But you will remember that there were a good many others 
who were taking the Message through the world; and 
many even who had been doing this since before Paul 
became a Herald at all. 

There were the Twelve Apostles, who had been the 
nearest to the Master while He was on the earth, and who 
had been especially taught by Him about the Kingdom, 
and the Message. 

Then there were all the rest of the followers of Jesus, 
we do not know how many, but we know that there were 
at least five hundred. (See i Cor. 15:6). 

Besides these there were the three thousand who had 
begun to believe in Jesus Christ at the Day of Pentecost, 
when the Spirit of God was sent to the disciples of Jesus. 
And many others had come to our Saviour through these 
who had known him earlier. 

Long before Paul's death there were churches all over 
the world then civilised, and every one was trying to 
spread the Message. The Kingdom was not to fail be- 
cause Paul had gone. 

But of all these other Heralds we know very little. 
Of most of them we know nothing, while of others we 
know only the names either mentioned in the history in 
the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, or in the Letters 
which we have in our New Testament. It would be very 
interesting to know all about them and their work; but 
it is not possible. 

186 



Some Other Heralds of the King 



i8 7 



Of course the greatest of these other Heralds were the 
Twelve Apostles whom Jesus Himself chose and trained. 
But even of these we know little surely. There are a 
great many "traditions," stories, about them, but many 
of them cannot possibly be true, and partly for that 
reason we are not at all sure whether the other stories are 
true. 

What follows here may very likely be true; although 
the most of it we are not at all sure about. 



1. Peter. You remember the stories of Peter's work 
told at the beginning of this book: the preaching in Jeru- 
salem on the Day of Pentecost; in Samaria; and in Cae- 
sarea to Cornelius; his healing of the lame man in the 
Temple, and of Aeneas; and his raising of Dorcas. And we 
read of his imprisonments in Jerusalem; especially the 
one where he was delivered by the angel just the night 
before he was to have been killed. 

He is mentioned later, both in the Acts and in Paul's 
Letters, as a prominent man in the Church. Paul speaks 
of him (by another form of his name, Cephas) very often; 




Portraits of Peter and Paul, from a Glass Cup 



i88 



Heralds of the King 



and in one place speaks of his taking his wife with him as 
he went about telling the Good News (i Cor. 9:5). Very 
probably she was the one whose mother had been healed 
by Jesus (Matt. 8:14), and no doubt she too told the 
Message as they went about. 

There is no real proof that Peter ever went to Rome, as 
many believe he did; but it is very likely that he did. The 
story is that he was Bishop of Rome for twenty-five years, 
and died with Paul there in A. D. 67. Not being a 




The Traditional Chain with which Peter was Bound 

Roman citizen he was crucified; but, the story says, he 
asked to be crucified with his head downward, because 
he felt himself unworthy to die in just the same way as 
his Master. 

He wrote two letters which we can read today in our 
New Testaments. In the second one he speaks of Paul 
as "our beloved brother Paul. " 

Some of the best verses to learn are: 

1 Pet. 1:3-9, 18,19: Blessed be the God and Father of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, Who according to His great mercy 
begot us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of 
Jesus Christ from dead, unto an inheritance incorruptible 



Some Other Heralds of the King 189 

and undented, and that fadeth not away, reserved in 
heaven for you, who are guarded through faith unto a 
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 

Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little 
while, if need be, ye have been put to grief ^in manifold 
trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious 
than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may 
be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation 
of Jesus Christ: Whom not having seen ye love; on Whom, 
though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice great- 
ly with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the 
end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 

Knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible 
things, with silver and gold, . . . but with precious 
blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, 
even the blood of Christ. 

1 Pet. 5:5-7. God resisteth the proud, but giveth 
grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under 
the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due 
time; casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He 
careth for you. 

2 Pet. 1:5-7: Adding on your part all diligence, in your 
faith supply virtue; and in your virtue knowledge; and in 
your knowledge self-control; and in your self-control 
patience; and in your .patience godliness; and in your 
godliness brotherly kindness; and in your brotherly kind- 
ness love." 

2 Pet. 3:13, 14, 18: According to His promise, we look 
for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth right- 
eousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for 
these things, give diligence that ye may be found in peace, 
without spot and blameless in His sight. 

But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and 
for ever. Amen. 

2. Andrew. Of him we know nothing surely. He 
was the brother of Peter, and may have been with him for 
some of the time. He is said to have gone to the southern 



190 



Heralds of the King 



coast of the Black Sea, where there were pirates, 
and to have been crucified on a cross shaped 
like the picture here. 

3. James the son of Zebedee. He was killed by 
Herod about A. D. 42, as we read in the earlier pages of 
this book. (See Acts 12:2.) 

4. John the brother of James the son of Zebedee had 
the care of Jesus' mother, Mary, after Jesus was crucified. 
(See John 19:26,27.) He was with Peter when the lame 
man at the Temple gate was healed, and had no doubt a 
share in that as well as in the imprisonment which fol- 
lowed it. 




The Isle of Patinas 



We know more about his after life than we do of 
the most of the Apostles. He outlived all the other 
Apostles, dying after A. D. 98. He was banished to the 
Island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, and there had the 
vision of which he writes in the Revelation, the last book 
in the New Testament as we have it. 



Some Other Heralds of the King 191 

He spent his last years in Ephesus, and probably died 
there, after writing the Gospel of John in his old age. He 
is called "the Apostle of Love," and his writings are full 
of appeals to the Christians to love one another. It is 
said that when he grew old and feeble, and unable to 
preach any more, he used to go along the streets of Ephesus 
and say to those he passed: "Little children, love one 
another." 

Another story told of him is that he was so feeble at the 
last that he dictated the words of his Gospel to be written 
by a younger man. And when he had dictated the last 
words of the book he smiled a goodbye to the man who 
had been helping him, and with the words "My work is 
done," he went to live with his Lord. 

One might well learn all that he wrote, it is so full of 
love. Perhaps among the best passages are these: 

1 John 2:1-5: My little children, these things write I 
unto you that ye may not sin. And if any man sin we 
have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the 
righteous: and He is the propitiation [atonement] for our 
sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. 

And hereby we know that we know Him, if we keep His 
commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth 
not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in 
Him; but whoso keepeth His word, in him verily hath the 
love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we 
are in Him. 

I John 3:1, 2: Behold what manner of love the Father 
hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children 
of God; and such we are. For this cause the world know- 
eth us not, because it knew Him not. 

Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet 
made manifest what we shall be. We know that if He 
shall be manifested, we shall be like Him; for we shall see 
Him even as He is. 

I John 3: 23, 24: This is His commandment, that we 



192 



Heralds of the King 



should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and 
love one another, even as He gave us commandment. 
And he that keepeth His commandment abideth in Him, 
and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in 
us, by the Spirit which He gave us. 

I John 4: 7-1 1, 18, 19: [one really ought to learn the 
whole of this chapter]: Beloved, let us love one another: 
for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of 
God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not 
God; for God is love. 

Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God 
hath sent His only begotten Son into the world that we 
night live through Him. Herein is love, not that we 
loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be 
the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, 
we also ought to love one another. 

There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out 
fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is 
not made perfect in love. 

We love Him because He first loved us. 

Rev. 2:7, 10, 17; 3:5, 12, 20, 21, [The promises "to 
him that overcometh "] : To him that overcometh, to him 
will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise 
of God. 

Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the 
crown of life. 

To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the 
hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and 
upon the stone a new name written, which no one know- 
eth, but he that receiveth it. 

He that overcometh shall be arrayed in white gar- 
ments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book 
of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and 
before His angels. 

He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the 
temple of My God, and he shall go out thence no more: 
and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the 
name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which 



Some Other Heralds of the King 



193 



cometh down out of heaven from My God, and Mine own 
new name. 

Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear 
my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and 
will sup with him, and he with Me. He that overcometh, 
I will give to him to sit down with Me in My throne, as 
I also overcame, and sat down with My Father in His 
throne. 

Rev. 7:9, 14-17: Behold, a great multitude, which no 
man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes 
and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and 
before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in 
their hands. 

These are they that came out of the great tribulation, 
and they washed their robes, and made them white in the 
blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne 
of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple: 
and He that sitteth on the throne shall spread His taber- 
nacle over them. 

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; 
neither shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat: for 
the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their 
Shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters 
of life: and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. 

Rev. 20:11, 12: And I saw a great white throne, and 
Him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the 
heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 
And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing 
before the throne; and books were opened: and another 
book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead 
were judged out of the things which were written in the 
books, according to their works. 

Revelation chapters 21 and 22 are too long to print 
here. Read them in your Bibles. If you learn them so 
that you will never forget them they will be a great delight 
to you as you grow older. 



St. John the Evangelist, by Dole I 



Some Other Heralds of the King 



195 



5. James the son of Alphaeus is generally regarded as 
having remained in charge of the church in Jerusalem. 
None of the stories about him are likely to be true. 

6. Judas, not Iscariot. Of this Apostle we know- 
nothing certainly. One story is that he preached in Persia 
and was martyred there. In another story he preached 
in a part of Syria, and died at Berytus, the modern Beirut, 
Syria. 

He probably wrote the book of the New Testament 
called the Epistle of Jude. The verses we should learn 
in this Letter are very familiar to us. 

Jude 24, 25 : Now unto Him Who is able to guard you 
from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of His 
glory without blemish in exceeding joy, to the only God 
our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, 
majesty, dominion and power, before all time, and now, 
and for evermore. Amen. 

7. Philip. He very probably lived in Colosse and 
other cities in the country of Phrygia, and died there. 

8. Bartholomew or Nathaniel, probably preached 
in Armenia, Asia, now a part of the Turkish Empire. He 
is said to have been a martyr. 

9. Matthew who wrote the Gospel, probably 
preached in Syria or in Syrian colonies in other parts of 
Asia. There are many stories about him; none of which 
can be true. 

10. Thomas. We know more about this Apostle, 
although many of the stories cannot be true. He went to 
Parthia, or between Parthia and India. The name of 
King Gondaphares, or Gondophorus, who was surely king 
of Parthia about this time, is spoken of in the stories told 
about Thomas. 

It is said in one story that this king asked the Apostle 
whom he had found able to do many wonderful things, 



Heralds of the King 



to build him a beautiful palace. He thought that with 
such powers as he had seen Thomas could build such a 
palace as never had been seen by mortal eyes. So he 
gave him an enormous amount of treasure, and went 
away, expecting to see the marvellous building when he 
returned. 

But Thomas used the treasure to feed and clothe the 
poor and hungry among the king's subjects around him. 

The king when he returned was fiercely angry, and 
thrust the Apostle into a dungeon. Then one night in a 
dream the king saw his brother, who had lately died. He 
said to the king: 

"I have been to Paradise, O my king! 

And have heard the heavenly angels sing. 

And there I saw, by the gates of gold, 

A palace finer than tongue hath told: 

Its walls and towers were lifted high, 

In beautiful grace to the bending sky; 

Its glories, there in that radiant place, 

Shone forth like a smile from the dear Lord's face 

An angel said it was builded there 

By the good St. Thomas, with love and care 

For our fellow-men, and that it should be 

Thy palace of peace through eternity. " 

The king released St. Thomas from his dungeon cell. 

"And said, '0 builder! he most is wise 
Who buildeth ever for Paradise.'" 



He is also said to have met the three wise men who 
brought their gifts to the Child Jesus, and have brought 



Some Other Heralds of the King 



197 



them to believe in Him as their King and Saviour. This is 
not at all probable; but it is interesting because it is more 
than likely that the names that tradition has given to the 
three wise men, — Balthasar, Melchior and Gaspar, — and 
the calling of them " kings," came from this story about 
the Apostle Thomas, as they are very like some names 
used in Parthia then. 

11. Simon the Cananaean, or the Zealot. He went, 
it is said, to some part of Parthia, and was crucified there. 

12. Judas Iscariot, though chosen by his Master as 
one of His Heralds, never carried the Message. He be- 
trayed his Lord and Master, and is always remembered for 
this evil deed. 



These are the Heralds of the King who carried the 
Message during the first few years after the death of the 
Master. As they died others carried on the work. Mul- 
titudes of strong men, loving, faithful women, and eager, 
winsome children, have heard the Message and passed it 
on, during these nearly 1900 years. 

And the Message must still be carried to the many 
people of all countries of the earth who have not yet heard 
it. Our King still wants His Heralds. 

Have you heard the Message? 
Are you carrying it to others? 



